


Two Different Worlds

by dejiko001



Category: Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Drama, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Hate to Love, On Hiatus, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Teenage Drama, Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23602780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dejiko001/pseuds/dejiko001
Summary: Realistically, they hate each other. Virtually, they care for one another.Is there a chance the two will get together? Anyone sane enough would immediately say no.But then again, life has a weird way of changing that kind of thinking.
Relationships: Akatsutsumi Momoko/Brick, Boomer/Goutokuji Miyako, Butch/Matsubara Kaoru
Kudos: 4





	1. The Feeling's Mutual

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I don't own the anime/manga of Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z nor its characters used in this fanfic. If I did own them, I would've made RRBZxPPGZ official. (The only thing I own is the plot of this fanfic.)
> 
>  **AO3 Note:** Chapters 1–5 were originally posted on FanFiction.Net (FFN). Chapters 6 and above are cross-posted on FFN and AO3.
> 
>  **A/N:** So, in case you guys haven't known, I've been gone for a long time. Things have happened, but I don't plan on letting that slow me down. Ironically, even though I didn't work on any of my fanfics, I still had ideas for them, and I even had ideas for new ones. Since it's summer now, I figure that maybe starting on another fanfic wouldn't be so bad. Besides, this idea was on my mind for a long time, so finally writing this out makes me feel a lot better.
> 
> Before I begin this fanfic, I will give some information and background. First off, this is AU, which stands for Alternate Universe. This means that there's no black/white light, superheroes, supervillians, etc. The high school that the PPGZ and the RRBZ go to follows a trimester system, and because the setting takes place in Japan, the school year starts in Spring. Although each school differs, I'm gonna make it simple for mine by having school start on the eighth of April. They will have summer vacation, winter vacation, and spring vacation as a result of the trimester system. But, don't worry. I won't make it that confusing for you guys. There is a reason why I will put dates and the time in my fanfic, haha. I just figured that letting you guys know this information ahead of time would make it less confusing for you as you continue to read on in the fanfic.
> 
> Warning: Because teenagers are teenagers, strong coarse language is occasionally used, especially since this is Butch and Kaoru we're talking about here. This fanfic is more like in between the borders of T and M; however, because it's not as explicit in other departments, the fanfic will remain as T-rated. If you feel offended at any point in the fanfic, then please stop reading and leave. Otherwise, enjoy the fanfic.

Day: March 31

Time: 12:35 A.M.

_Hey._

_Hey, yourself._

_You're on pretty late, haha._

_It's spring vacation, man. Of course, I'd be on late._

_Yeah, I know. So, how was your day?_

_Eh, same old, same old._

_Haha, so you got dragged around the mall again?_

_…Maybe._

_Pfft, how do you put up with those friends of yours?_

_'Cause they're my best friends, you moron. Duh._

_Ouch. Don't have to be so harsh, BC!_

_Shut up, Butch._

_Sheesh. So, I guess something got on your nerves today, huh?_

_Pretty much._

_Wanna tell me about it?_

_Eh, it's just that…I encountered the jackass at the mall._

_Oh. THAT jackass?_

_Yes, Butch. THAT jackass._

_Pfft._

_What the hell's so funny?_

_'Cause I ironically dealt with that bitch today._

_Jesus Christ. I'm sorry for that._

_Eh, not your fault. The feeling's mutual between me and her._

_Hah. Same thing between me and him._

_All the more reason for us to get along, huh? Haha._

_Hah, indeed. Man, I can't wait for school to start again._

_Really? I thought you dreaded school._

_I dread school, not education. Get that right, pfft._

_Haha, well, you should check your wording then, Miss Buttercup._

_Shut up, Butch. You know very well what I mean, you idiot._

_Haha. So, why are you looking forward to it, hm?_

_Well, I just don't wanna see that asshole's face._

_Oh, yeah, we're gonna be first years in high school next year._

_Yup, you and me. I didn't think we'd be the same age. But then again, you could be lying to me._

_Why would I lie to you? I have no reason to, pfft._

_I don't know. Maybe you're some freaking pedo?_

_I am not a fucking lolicon._

_I said pedo. Some pedophiles like little boys, too._

_…Let's not go there._

_Haha! You brought it up, man!_

_Shut up, BC. Unlike you, I don't want this spring vacation to end._

_Haha, why?_

_'Cause I don't wanna do work. Big Bro says that I gotta get my shit together when high school starts._

_Ah, yeah, you told me about that._

_Yeah, I did._

_Hm… Didn't you tell me that you barely graduated?_

_Yeah. Barely. But it wasn't just me. My brothers barely graduated as well, but it's all right. Everything worked out in the end._

_I'm glad for that. It'd suck to repeat another year._

_You think we don't know that? It's pretty much why Big Bro wants me and Lil Bro to get our shit together._

_And him?_

_Haha, him, too, BC. Don't worry. He's not a hypocrite. Trust me. If he was, I would've punched him in the face by now._

_…If that did happen, I'd be worried._

_Don't worry, man. It's all good. Besides, we all plan on doing it. I'm just hoping that the bitch I told you about doesn't come to my school either._

_Ugh. Don't get me started on that asshole._

_Haha, no need to. I know how much you hate the dude._

_Just like how much you hate that bitch._

_Pfft, I hate her more than you hate him._

_Are we seriously going to get into an argument about this?_

_Haha, maybe._

_Man, whatever. I'm going to bed._

_Oh, wait, BC._

_Hm?_

_Everything's all right with you, right?_

_Yeah. Why?_

_Nothing. Just worried about you._

_Pfft, I'm fine. Everything's okay._

_When girls say that, they're actually lying._

_Since when were you the expert on girls?_

_Since forever. I've had a shitload of girlfriends, remember?_

_Oh, yeah. You freaking player._

_Not my fault they like my "bad boy" image, haha._

_Well, I mean it when I say I'm fine. Trust me on this 'cause I'm actually laughing right now._

_I'm glad, then. If you ever need someone to hear you out, I'm always here._

_Haha, you don't think I know that?_

_I know you do. Just wanted to let you know, BC._

_Well, I'm going to bed now, man. Good night. Here's to hoping that our first year wouldn't be so bad._

_Haha, g'night, BC. And I'm sure that our first year would turn out to be a hell of a lot different than it would've been before._

* * *

Day: April 8

Time: 7:55 A.M.

A green-eyed black-haired female did her best to stifle her yawn, letting it escape slowly through her partially closed mouth. Her arms were kept at her side, and she did her best to focus on the principal, who was still giving a speech to the student body.

The opening ceremony _and_ the entrance ceremony into one? Huge bore to her, as always. As much as she appreciated the effort, she still found it a complete waste of time. Every single year, the principal would say the same thing: inspiring remarks, encouraging students to do well in class and participate in sports, etc. Was there really a point to mentioning the same thing over and over? She found it so…redundant. Everyone is in high school by now, so obviously, they would need to get their act together. After all, anyone that doesn't would repeat another year, and there's not a student that actually wants that.

"…And so, I wish you luck with this school year!"

Applause erupted from the students and the school faculty as soon as the principal's speech ended.

"Now, first year representative, Gotokuji Miyako, will give a speech."

The green-eyed black-haired female blinked before muttering, "Oh, yeah. Miyako said that she'd be giving a speech."

Applause once again erupted as a light blue-eyed blonde female made her way to the stage. Her hair was in two curly pigtails, descending to her shoulders, and her light blue eyes made her pale skin stand out even more. As the blonde began her speech, the black-haired female could hear the whispers among the male students.

"Holy shit, she's cute."

"I didn't know that there was such a cute girl among the first years!"

"Do you think she has a boyfriend?"

"I hope not! Oh, God, hat was her name again?"

"Gotokuji Miyako. Oh, man, even her name fits her image."

"God, thank you for letting me to go a school with a cute girl such as her."

"Wait, what class is she in?"

"Shit, the principal didn't say, huh? Damn it!"

"No problem, dude! We'll just ask around! Simple as that!"

The black-haired female rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to groan. Unlike the principal's speech, she listened intently to Miyako's, and she waited patiently until the end of the blonde's speech to applause. In response, Miyako bowed and smiled before walking off the stage in a calm manner.

The principal then walked back on stage. Clearing his voice, he began, "Now that the opening and entrance ceremony is over, students should head to their classes. There, your homeroom teacher will be waiting. Have a nice day, everyone, and may you do your best in your studies!"

* * *

By now, everyone was hustling and bustling to their classrooms to try to get a good seat, and those that were already in their classrooms were making small talk. Because of the ceremonies today, students had until 8:10 to get to their classes before they'd be marked tardy.

The green-eyed black-haired female continued to wander the halls, looking for her classroom. As she passed by each room, she slowly became irritated. "1-C… 1-C… Where the hell is 1-C?!"

"Ah, Kaoru-san!"

The black-haired female blinked her eyes.

"Kaoru-san, over here!"

She blinked her eyes before turning her head towards a classroom. Peering inside, she found Miyako waving at her from her seat. She blinked a couple more times before heading inside, grinning at the blonde.

"Kaoru-san, what did you think about my speech this morning?"

"Well, it was a hell of a lot shorter than the principal's, that's for sure."

Miyako giggled before her eyes went wide. "Oh, Kaoru-san, you wouldn't happen to be in 1-A, would you?"

"Well, actually—"

"Oh, my God!"

Before Kaoru knew it, she was attacked from behind by a hug. The female flinched, turning around to find the culprit: a pink-eyed redhead by the name of Akatsutsumi Momoko. The black-haired female frowned. "Momoko, what the hell?"

The redhead squealed, completely ignoring Kaoru. "We're gonna be in the same class again!"

"Momoko-san, you're in 1-A as well?" Miyako exclaimed.

Momoko nodded, and the two began to clap their hands and smile happily.

Kaoru cleared her voice, raising an eyebrow at the two. "Sorry to rain on your parade, but I'm in 1-C."

"What?! B-But we've always been a trio!" Momoko whined.

"Actually, I was expecting this to happen," Kaoru replied, shrugging. "So, can you guys tell me where 1-C is?"

Miyako nodded, but she pouted slightly. "It's down the hall."

"Thanks," Kaoru replied, but before she turned around to leave, she heard whispers amongst the male students of the class.

"What the hell? Cutie does have a boyfriend."

"Who is that guy? He looks weak."

"Heh, maybe he is."

"Shh. He'll hear you."

Kaoru blinked before hearing the female students' comments.

"Hey, that guy's kind of cute."

"He is. What did Gotokuji-san call him again?"

"I think it was Kaoru. I wonder what class he's in."

"Oh, I hope he's in this one!"

Kaoru's eye twitched, and when she saw Momoko and Miyako snickering, she glared at the two. "This isn't funny."

"Hey, you brought this on yourself, Kaoru," Momoko replied, snickering as she eyed Kaoru's uniform.

Kaoru, being a tomboy, wore none other than the uniform for the boys; she refused to wear the uniform for girls, and it was mainly because of the skirt. The tomboy growled when she eyed Momoko and Miyako's skirts, which were halfway between their thighs.

"Let's hope that Kaoru-san won't get into trouble this year," Miyako said before giggling softly and eying the tomboy's uniform.

Kaoru groaned. "Forget it. I'm heading out. I'll see you guys later."

Even when the tomboy left, she heard her two best friends snicker behind her. She couldn't help but growl in irritation, frightening most of the dudes that crossed her path. So what if she went with the uniform for boys? She's already mistaken for one, for crying out loud, and she was a hell of a lot more comfortable in clothing for males than for females. The only thing she was irritated at was the student population. Males would send her looks of envy for knowing Miyako and being close to her, and females would give her flirtatious looks.

Seriously? It just made her feel uncomfortable as hell. She may look like a dude, but she's a girl, and she's definitely not a homosexual. She never thought of girls in that kind of way—only boys. It just irritated her that people would always talk about her in this kind of sense. The same thing happened in elementary and in middle school. Word eventually gets out that she's a female and not a male, but there were the girls that were persistent, the boys that refused to believe it, and those that were in complete denial.

It always pissed her off, period.

When Kaoru finally found the classroom for 1-C, she slid the door open and walked inside. She saw of how the girls were giving her flirtatious looks, and she couldn't help but glare at them. They immediately flinched and looked away, leaving the tomboy to walk calmly to a random seat near the window. She glanced at the clock, seeing that there was still five minutes left.

At once, she took out her phone, and she checked her messages. She frowned when she saw that there weren't any messages at all, but as if on cue, she received one. At once, she opened it and smiled.

_Hey, BC. How's school so far?_

The tomboy began to text back. _So far, pretty quiet—except for, you know, judgmental people. And you?_

_Hm, well, I missed my school's ceremony thing._

_What the hell? And I thought I was bad for not paying attention!_

_Haha. Hey, not my fault. My brothers and I woke up late._

_Pfft. So much for getting your acts together._

_Shut up, man. Anyway, I'm trying to find my classroom right now._

_Hm, well, good luck with that. You didn't get into trouble for being late, did you?_

_Nah. Since it was our first day, the teachers and the principal let it slide._

_…Holy shit, you got involved with the principal?_

_Well, yeah, because one teacher was being a total bitch about us being late. But hey, it's all good._

_Damn. I'm sorry for that, man._

_Well, like I said, they let it slide this time. Next time, though? They wouldn't. Period._

_You know what you should do?_

_What?_

_Get your ass out of bed earlier, haha._

_Hey, my brothers are also at fault._

_Laaaaaaaame. Using your brothers as an excuse. Pfft._

_BC, you're lucky that we're texting. If we were together right now, I'd punch you._

_Even if I'm a girl?_

_Even if you're a fucking girl._

_Haha, good. I don't like it when guys wimp out on me._

_I know, Buttercup. I know._

_Well, I gotta go. The teacher could come in any minute, and I don't want my phone taken away._

_Gotcha. Text me later?_

_Haha, of course, Butch._

Kaoru smiled, and she snapped her phone shut before putting it away. She heard the door slid open and shut multiple times as students came in and out. Eventually, the seats were all packed, and she heard the bell ring at exactly 8:10. Immediately, a teacher walked into the classroom, and all of the chatter amongst the students ceased.

"Hello, class," the teacher said. "I am your English teacher…"

Kaoru slowly let him drone on, and the tomboy immersed herself in her thoughts as she stared blankly at the teacher.

Eventually, he announced she was going to take roll, and the tomboy waited patiently for him to call her name.

"Matsubara Kaoru."

At once, Kaoru raised her hand. "Here."

"Let's see… Jojo Takeshi."

Kaoru flinched as she heard a voice behind her say, "Here."

The tomboy turned around to find a boy with spiky black hair, piercing dark green eyes, and pale skin. As they stared at each other with wide eyes, they both had one thought in mind: _Oh, fuck no._


	2. Punishment for the Troublemakers

Day: April 8

Time: 3:10 P.M.

Fingers drummed against the desk. Narrowed blue eyes stared at two students. Legs were crossed, facing the students. A frown formed immediately when neither of the students bothered to speak. These actions belonged none other than Ms. Keane, the homeroom teacher of these two students. Her blue eyes stared at Kaoru Matsubara, the student that stood at her right. She then stared at Takeshi Jojo, the other student that stood at her left.

Ms. Keane then raised an eyebrow at the two. "It's your first day here, and you two have already caused trouble."

At once, Kaoru opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by her homeroom teacher.

"Apologies will not do this time," Ms. Keane interrupted. "You two not only caused trouble in my class, but in the other classes as well _and_ during lunch time." Immediately, she narrowed her eyes slightly at Kaoru. "And Ms. Matsubara, didn't I tell you at lunch that you needed to change your uniform?"

Kaoru sighed. "Yes, but I'm perfectly fine with this one—"

"School regulations are school regulations."

"Yes, I know, Ms. Keane, but I would honestly prefer not wearing the uniform for girls. I've told you this already during lunch—"

"I've already talked it out with the principal, and he declined."

Kaoru grumbled softly under her breath.

"Serves you right, bitch," Takeshi whispered to her.

The tomboy growled and glared dangerously at the boy beside her. It took everything in her to restrain herself from attacking him, and the smirk he adorned on his calm face didn't help at all.

Ms. Keane sighed. "All right. Just what exactly is going on between the two of you? This is _high school_. We're not in middle school anymore, and the two of you are acting like children. Can you not put differences aside and at least get along? And, if possible, have a civilized conversation?"

"No," the students replied immediately in unison. The two were glancing at each other out of the corner of their eyes; neither of them bothered to turn their head to face the other. The two continued to stare until Takeshi broke it by looking directly at Ms. Keane.

"I've apologized for my behavior already, but if there is anything that I can do to make up this day, I would be more than willing to accept," Takeshi immediately stated.

"Well, that's good," Ms. Keane replied before then stating, "Because I've already assigned the both of you to clean-up duty for the entire trimester."

Kaoru's eyes went wide. "Wait, what?! Don't you think that's a bit extreme, Ms. Keane?!"

"Ms. Matsubara, from what I gathered, you and Mr. Jojo have never gotten along," their homeroom teacher replied. As she turned around coolly and began putting things on her desk away, she stated, "You two sit near each other, but that's apparently not enough to have a civilized conversation. It's only been one day, and the two of you were sent outside of the classroom five times—each for every period except mine. And what's more is that during those times you were sent out, the two of you would get into arguments and disturb the other classes. Not to mention that the last argument became physical." At this, she narrowed her eyes at her students. However, she quickly went back to packing her things, and she stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Therefore, clean-up duty for an entire trimester seems fairly reasonable. That is, unless you two prefer detention or suspension."

Both Takeshi and Kaoru stayed quiet as their homeroom teacher stared at them.

Ms. Keane then closed her eyes before sighing and shaking her head. "Perhaps this way, you'll learn to be civilized with one another."

"Pardon me, ma'am, but may I ask a question?" Takeshi asked, still adorning a calm look.

Kaoru glared at him, and the tomboy hoped that he wouldn't do something stupid to make the punishment even worse.

Takeshi received a nod from Ms. Keane, and he then asked, "If Matsubara and I are on clean-up duty for the entire trimester, what about the other students? Will it just be us two?"

"Of course not," Ms. Keane replied. "Because this is your punishment, you two are just extra hands. The actual people assigned to clean-up duty will be there as well."

"And this is weekly?"

"Yes, unless it's actually your turn. So, there is a chance that you two will be alone."

Kaoru grimaced at this, but Takeshi kept a stoic face.

"Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment, so I need to be going," Ms. Keane stated, and as she left the room, she called out, "Oh, and you two don't think about skipping clean-up duty, or I will find out. So you better head up to your class right now to clean up." She then slid the door closed behind her, leaving Kaoru and Takeshi in the room with several other teachers around their desks.

Kaoru then grumbled angrily before leaving the room as well, not even bothering to look back because she knew fully well that Takeshi was following after her. She wanted nothing to do with this guy, but unfortunately for her, she was stuck with him.

And it was with clean-up duty.

"At least it can't get any worse," the tomboy muttered once she was in front of her classroom. When she opened the door, though, her eye twitched, and she cursed herself for jinxing it.

Inside the classroom were none other than two girls, who she recognized as her classmates. The two were whispering to each other; Kaoru knew this because she heard whispers and giggling before she opened the door. However, the minute she did, their small talk ceased, and the two girls stared at Kaoru. When Kaoru raised an eyebrow at them, the two girls flinched, and they looked away, not wanting to look at her in the eye. Kaoru resisted the urge to growl. First impressions mattered to many people, and apparently, because of Takeshi's presence at this school, her reputation was already going downhill.

Well, not that it mattered to her, anyway. The tomboy didn't care about what others thought about her; the only people she did care about were Momoko and Miyako, her two best friends.

Kaoru stayed silent as she stared at the two girls. She could tell that she was making them feel uncomfortable, but the tomboy shrugged it off as she headed to the green chalkboard in front of the classroom, took the erasers, and headed to the window that the girls were near. "Mind opening the window for me?"

One of the girls responded by complying, and the two girls then headed to the back of the room. The two girls whispered to each other as they opened the locker door that contained the cleaning utensils and began to sweep the floor.

Kaoru sighed and began hitting the erasers against each other. Dust clouds formed one after another, but the tomboy kept her head a good distance away to continue the process. She kept silent, not bothering to utter a word until she heard a small chuckle. She glanced out of the corner of her eyes, and she resisted the urge to growl.

Instead of cleaning up the classroom, Takeshi was talking with the girls—no, flirting with them, in fact. The tomboy knew because it was obvious. His flirtatious grin was there, and both of the girls were blushing. It was only a matter of time before he would do a small affectionate action, such as tucking a long strand of hair behind the ear.

As if on cue, Takeshi did just that to one of the girls, and that same girl's face grew even redder.

It took everything in Kaoru to not lash out at the boy. Not only was he not working, but he was flirting with the girls and distracting them. At this rate, it'll be just Kaoru cleaning the classroom, and the tomboy definitely didn't want that. However, she just rolled her eyes and decided to keep her mouth shut.

The tomboy heard Takeshi chuckle and say, "What was your name, exactly? I'm sorry. I didn't catch it earlier in class today."

Screw it.

"For God's sake, quit yapping and start cleaning," Kaoru snapped, not bothering to turn her head. She continued to hit the erasers against each other, and she frowned because the amount of dust clouds that continued to form seemed to be endless.

"Matsubara, you've gotten on my nerves many times today, so I'd appreciate it if you'd just be quiet and clean."

At once, Kaoru stopped her actions and turned to the left to fully look at Takeshi. She glared at him and yelled, "The hell?! You've got some nerve saying that to me, Jojo! I'm telling you to do your freaking part of the clean-up duty because you're not doing shit right now! Instead of cleaning, you're flirting your ass off with those two!"

"Why would this matter to you? What I do is entirely up to me, so I suggest using that brain of yours properly before yelling at me, Matsubara."

Kaoru growled, and it took everything in her to not start another physical fight with him right then and there. "Because _you_ got me into this mess, Jojo. Because of _you_ , I'm stuck with clean-up duty for _an entire trimester_."

"Says the girl that started yelling in the hallway earlier today and raised a fist at my face," Takeshi replied. His face was completely calm, but the tomboy knew that he was annoyed at her. The tone in his voice entirely gave it away.

Kaoru growled, and her eyes were narrowed dangerously at Takeshi. "You provoked me, and you know it, Jojo, so don't fuck around and say this was on me."

"I'm saying it because it _is_ on you," Takeshi replied, scowling as he started walking towards her. "If you actually learned to cool that temper of yours—"

"Not my fault that a certain shitty person I know pisses me off so much," Kaoru interrupted, glaring harshly at Takeshi.

Needless to say, the atmosphere in the room grew hostile as the glaring contest between Kaoru and Takeshi continued. The two of them were so into their silent argument that the two girls in the back of the room were quivering. They glanced at each other. The fear was apparent in their eyes, and they didn't know what to do.

One of the girls managed to speak up after the silence continued. "W-Well, um, we have something to do, so…we'll leave the cleaning to you!" At once, the two of them ran to their seats and gathered their belongings.

Kaoru then broke the glaring contest she had with Takeshi to look at the girls with wide eyes. "Hey, wait—"

"We're sorry about this! We…We just need to go! We'll see you tomorrow!"

And at once, the two girls ran out, and the only responses Kaoru received were the door slamming and the footsteps echoing off into the distance.

Kaoru's eye twitched, and she glared at Takeshi. Before she could open her mouth to yell at him, she heard someone out the window yell for her attention. She blinked, turned her head, and looked down. Right then and there, her eyes grew wide.

"Hey, you dropped this, dude! You should be more careful next time!"

Kaoru stared at the male that was at least two floors down. He had golden blond hair, bright blue eyes, and tan skin. If anything, Kaoru would've classified him as a pretty boy, but what stuck out to her the most was none other than the fact that the boy was physically fit. He was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and red sweatpants. Kaoru couldn't help but stare at his arms—his biceps, for that matter.

"Do realize that he's talking to you," she heard Takeshi say.

Kaoru snapped out of it immediately by blinking. Luckily for her, she kept her composure, so she just stared at the blond male's face before replying, "Sorry about that, man!"

"It's all right!" the boy replied as he grinned. "So, you planning on coming down here to get this eraser, or should I come up there myself?"

"I'll head down there, so just sit tight and wait for me!"

"All right!"

At once, Kaoru headed out of the classroom and ran down two sets of staircases before she ended up at the front of the school. Immediately, she ran to left towards the side of the school that was near the field. As soon as she turned around the corner, there the tan blond male stood, holding up the eraser and dusting off any remaining chalk on his hair and clothes.

He grinned and whistled. "That was pretty fast."

Kaoru grinned back in response as she headed towards him. She couldn't help but stare at his muscles once more; muscled men were always her weakness, sadly. And she rarely met any guys as fit as this dude. Needless to say, she was a bit interested.

Just a bit.

Kaoru then took the eraser and continued to grin at him. "Thanks, man. And again, sorry about, well, you know."

The male shrugged in response. "No problem. I'm guessing you're a first year?"

Kaoru nodded. "How'd you know?"

"You were on the second floor, and the second floor only has first year students."

Kaoru stared at him, and she had a blank look on her face. It was an obvious deduction, but she was still impressed. He at least had a brain, despite those muscles.

"Dude?"

Kaoru snapped out of her trance by blinking at him a couple of times. "Yeah?"

"Did you zone out just now?"

Kaoru chuckled softly. "Yeah, sorry about that, man. My first day was pretty…" Her voice trailed off as she then grimaced, remembering the events that occurred today. She sighed. "Well, it was tiring."

The male laughed softly. "If you're tired from just that, you won't survive in any of the sports teams!"

Kaoru rolled her eyes, but she grinned in response.

"So, your name? I'm Narushima Naruo."

"Matsubara Kaoru."

"Oh, I see. So, Matsubara-kun, huh?"

Kaoru blinked a couple of times and stared at Naruo. He seriously thought that she was a dude. Not a girl, but a _dude_. Well, Kaoru _was_ wearing the male uniform… The tomboy then sighed.

"Is something the matter?"

She looked up to find Naruo raising an eyebrow at her. The tomboy then shook her head, but she could hear Takeshi's laughter, even though she and Naruo were two floors below. Kaoru resisted the urge to yell at Takeshi. Last thing she needed right now was getting into _another_ argument with him.

Naruo tilted his head slightly as he looked at Takeshi. He then turned his head to Kaoru. "Why is he laughing?"

Kaoru shrugged, but she knew fully well why Takeshi was laughing. Oh, if only she could pummel the living hell out of him right now…

Naruo frowned slightly, but he shrugged it off. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Matsubara-kun. I gotta get going, so I'll see you some time, all right?"

Kaoru nodded and grinned. "Sure."

As Naruo began running off, he called out, "And think about joining some of the sports teams! I think we could use a guy like you!"

Kaoru sighed as she shook her head and rolled her eyes in response. When she saw that Naruo finally went around the corner of the school, the tomboy whirled her head around to look up at Takeshi. Her light green eyes were glaring at him, and they were full of fury.

Takeshi smirked at her. "Are you angry, Matsubara?"

Kaoru growled.

"Well, I don't blame you. After all, a _certain someon_ e was mistaken for a boy _again_." Takeshi's smirk grew even wider before he broke out in more of his mocking laughter.

The tomboy growled once more. Before she knew it, her fury led her to throw the chalk eraser at Takeshi's head, and luckily for her, her aim was right on. She blankly stared at him as the eraser fell back down onto the ground.

Takeshi's hair had remnants of white chalk. Even his uniform was stained. Despite his dirty appearance, he was glaring at Kaoru with a scowl adorned on his face.

Kaoru scoffed. If looks could kill, she'd be dead already. Unfortunately for Takeshi, they don't. When Kaoru glanced at his appearance once more, she stifled her laughter, which caused the tomboy to snicker.

"You bitch."

Kaoru grinned in response, raising a knowing eyebrow at him. "Oh, really? Well, a _certain someone_ opened his big mouth, so he got what was coming to him _again_."

Takeshi narrowed his eyes at her before turning away from the window.

When Kaoru saw that he was no longer there, she grinned, and the tomboy went to pick up the eraser. She then glanced up to see if Takeshi was still there at the window.

Fortunately for Kaoru, he wasn't there.

Kaoru figured that he was probably dusting himself off, so she quickly took out her phone and checked her messages.

No new message.

She frowned at this, but she glanced up once more to see if Takeshi was there. When he wasn't, she quickly texted, _Hey._

_You have horrible timing._

_Huh?_

_And you took forever to send me a text. What the hell were you doing, BC?_

Kaoru frowned. _Well, I'm sorry, you jackass. Jeez, what the hell crawled up your ass?_

_Turns out the bitch goes to my school, and she pissed me off today. That's what._

Kaoru began heading back into the school. _I'm sorry, man. But aren't you usually the calm one?_

_Yeah. Usually. She went too far today—well, just now, at least._

_Damn. What did she do?_

_I don't even wanna mention it. It's something so little—so trivial, in fact—but I'm pissed off. Maybe it's because she caught me off guard. Ugh._

_Dude. What did she do?_

_The bitch was just being a bitch, period. That's all I can say._

_You sure you don't wanna tell me?_

_Yeah, I'm cool. I'm more irritated that I was caught off guard by her. Fucking hell._

_Dude, if it makes you feel any better, Mr. Jackass made my day terrible as well._

_Seriously? How?…Wait, don't tell me that you two actually go the same school now._

_Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. And the jackass did a lot of things, actually. But the one moment I get interested in a dude, he ruins my mood._

_Aw, BC got a crush? And on the first day? I didn't expect you to find someone so quickly._

_Man, shut up. And you shouldn't be talking, Mr. Player! It's just… It's my weakness, okay?_

_Hey, now. I'm not a player, BC! I date one girl at a time, man. And what weakness?_

_…You totally forgot my weakness, didn't you?_

_…Maybe. Enlighten me._

_…You…asshole._

_Haha, just tell me._

_Pfft. I hate you._

_Nah. Don't lie to me. You love me. Now, tell me, woman, before I spam the living hell out of you._

_You wouldn't dare._

_Oh, I would. Now, enlighten me._

Kaoru couldn't help but smile as she rolled her eyes. By this time, she was already heading up the staircase. As she ascended the stairs, she texted, _My weakness for muscular guys, man. The dude had freaking…biceps. Biceps, damn it._

_…Okay. Please remember that I am a dude and I don't do that girly shit. And that I'm not gay._

_Pfft. What the hell? Where is this coming from?_

_Just making sure that Miss Buttercup has come back to Earth and that she's not in la la land._

Kaoru laughed softly, and she didn't bother to suppress her smile that came afterward. _I'm not in la la land. I have a right to check out dudes. I may be a tomboy, but I'm still a girl, man._

_Still. Muscular men?_

_Dude, I'm not into wimps, okay?_

_But that crush of yours—what if he's a wimp?_

_Dude. He. Is. Not. My. Crush. We just met today. What the hell?_

_You liked him, didn't you?_

_…Only for a brief moment._

_Brief? The hell you mean by that?_

Kaoru sighed. She found that she was already in front of the classroom. Its door was closed, and she contemplated on entering the classroom. She glanced at her phone and decided not to enter. The tomboy then leaned against the wall near the door as she typed, _He thought I was a dude._

_…PFFT._

_…Shut up._

_HAHA._

_I said to shut the hell up!_

_HAHAHA._

_THE HELL, BUTCH?!_

_HAHA, I'M SORRY. I'M JUST SURPRISED, THAT'S ALL!_

Kaoru blinked. _Why?_

_Oh, well, let's just say I witnessed a similar event earlier. And I laughed my ass off because of it._

_Why?_

_Because it involved the bitch, haha._

Kaoru rolled her eyes. _Well, that's rather weird._

_What is?_

_That the same thing happened to me and the bitch you're talking about._

_Well, you're not the only tomboy in this world, haha._

Kaoru grinned. _That's true. Well, I gotta go. I got shit to do._

_Same here. Talk to you later?_

Smiling, Kaoru texted, _Duh, you idiot._

_Looking forward to it, then._

The tomboy sighed before closing her phone. She leaned her head back against the wall before turning her head to stare at the door.

She _really_ didn't want to face Mr. Jackass right now—not after texting Butch again and feeling a hell of a lot better.

Too bad the tomboy didn't have a choice.


	3. The Hostility Continues

Day: April 13

Time: 12:20 P.M.

"Kill me now. Please. I beg of you."

Miyako blinked as she stopped eating from her boxed lunch. "Kaoru-san?"

No response from Kaoru.

Momoko tilted her head as she poked the tomboy. "Kaoru, you there?"

Kaoru didn't reply again.

Both Momoko and Miyako frowned slightly at this, but they said nothing as they both continued to eat from their boxed lunches. The redhead and blonde continued to stare at Kaoru, who was resting her head on a desk.

It was currently lunch time, and the tomboy headed over to 1-A to eat with Momoko and Miyako. The trio always sit in a triangle; Momoko and Miyako's desks would be side-by-side, and the desk that Kaoru borrowed to sit in would be on the other side and facing them. The redhead and blonde already had their lunches out, and they were eating already. The tomboy, on the other hand, would be eating with them as well.

Except that the tomboy forgot her boxed lunch at home.

That, and she couldn't go to the cafeteria to buy lunch because the area was already crowded by now.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the real reason why the tomboy was feeling down.

Momoko then poked Kaoru with her finger. "Kaoru? Hello? You there?"

"I'm here," the tomboy replied softly, still having her head down against her arms on the desk.

"Kaoru-san, what's wrong? You're usually not like this at all," Miyako asked, frowning slightly.

The tomboy grunted before her stomach growled.

"Oh, you're hungry!" Momoko exclaimed, grinning.

The tomboy grunted once more, except this time, it sounded more like she was rejecting the idea.

Momoko frowned. "But, aren't you hungry?"

Kaoru lifted her head up, and she glared at her two best friends before leaning back against her chair. "You two don't get it, do you?"

Miyako blinked. "Get what, Kaoru-san?"

Kaoru groaned softly. "My hunger isn't why I'm so irritated."

Momoko then asked, "Wait, but wasn't your stomach—"

"Momoko, I _just_ said that it's not because of my hunger!"

"Okay, jeez! No need to yell, Kaoru!"

Kaoru growled softly before sighing and laying her head on her arms again.

Miyako blinked a few more times and asked softly, "Kaoru-san, are you sure that you're feeling well? This is very unlike you."

"Oh, I know!" Momoko exclaimed. "Kaoru must be—"

Kaoru growled as she glared at Momoko. Her look sent the message that said, "Don't you _dare_ finish that sentence."

The redhead gulped, and she laughed sheepishly. "H-Hey, I had to try to get you to lighten up."

"It's not that," the tomboy snapped before narrowing her eyes at the redhead. She then sighed softly, letting herself relax. "It's Ms. Keane and the principal."

"But, why Ms. Keane? She's a nice teacher."

"She is, but…" The tomboy then groaned softly, laying her head back down.

"Oh, I know," Miyako said, smiling slightly. "It's because of your uniform, isn't it? You were rather late than usual when you came over."

The tomboy gave the blonde a thumbs-up before lifting her head back up. "I got called to the faculty office. Ms. Keane's been on my case this entire week, and she says that if I don't wear the 'right'"—at this, Kaoru made quotation marks with her fingers as she grimaced—"uniform by Monday, I'm gonna get another punishment."

"Oh, yeah, you said something about clean-up duty," Momoko stated before eating from her boxed lunch. When she took a few bites and gulped down the last, she held up her chopsticks and pointed them at Kaoru. "Didn't you say you got stuck with one of the Jojo brothers?" Before Kaoru could retort, though, Momoko grinned before adding teasingly, "Kaoru, you have _no_ idea how many girls would be glad to be in your place."

"It's not _just_ one of the Jojo brothers. It's _him_ —that stupid _jackass!_ I would _gladly_ switch with any one of those girls!" Immediately, Kaoru groaned. "Why _me?_ Just _why?_ "

"Well, you _did_ almost start a fist fight with him."

"Hey, he had it coming!"

"Kaoru-san, at least you don't have detention or suspension," Miyako added before taking another bite from her boxed lunch. "I think clean-up duty is a light punishment, compared to the other ones. You're lucky that you weren't expelled."

The tomboy scoffed. "I know that, but… _Why 1-C?!_ " At this point, the tomboy was already standing and capturing everyone's attention in 1-A. However, she took no notice as she continued to yell, " _Why_ did our names have to coincidentally be in the same class?! Just _why?!_ "

"Well, I agree with Ms. Keane that you should think about being on civilized terms with Jojo-san."

The tomboy deadpanned at the blonde. "That's impossible, Miyako."

At once, the tomboy then heard whispers throughout the classroom, ranging from males to females.

"He called Gotokuji-san by her first name! Just what exactly is his relationship to her?!"

"Maybe childhood friends, man? I don't know. Lucky bastard."

The tomboy's right eye then twitched. Seriously? _Seriously?_ If they wanted to be Miyako's boyfriend so badly, maybe they should stop talking behind the tomboy's back and actually have the courage to talk to the blonde!

"Matsubara-san is rather weird for a boy…"

"But he's still cute."

"Wait, he _is_ single, right? He _did_ call Gotokuji-san by her first name."

"Him? And her? Well, it's possible…"

The tomboy's other eye twitched at this.

"Well, even if Matsubara-san isn't available, there's still the Jojo brothers!"

"Oh, my God, yes! Those guys are just… _heavenly._ "

The tomboy grumbled angrily when she heard soft giggling and squealing before she sat back down. She glared at the redhead and blonde, who were snickering as they continued to eat. "This. Is. Not. Funny."

Momoko finally ate the last of her food before she grinned. "Hey, on the bright side, the boys will back away from Miyako! You just gotta wait for a while before everyone realizes that you're not, well, _you know._ " Momoko then wiggled her eyebrows, and she only giggled when the tomboy growled at her.

Miyako giggled softly at this. "Kaoru-san, it's not so bad."

"Says the girl that's already won over the hearts of nearly every dude here in our school," Kaoru retorted dryly, raising an eyebrow at the blonde.

Momoko pouted. "Why is it always Miyako? Why not me, too?"

"Momoko-san, don't fret," Miyako replied as she smiled. "There's a boy out there for you."

"She has a point, Momoko," Kaoru added, rolling her eyes. "In a way, Miyako's slimming down the male population for you. After all, if a guy's gonna like you for you, his heart's not gonna waver towards Miyako."

Momoko stared at Kaoru before sniffling softly. "Kaoru, can I hug you?"

"What?! No!"

"Please?!"

"No! Focus on your lunch!"

"But I'm already done!"

"Eat Miyako's, then!"

"But she just finished!"

"Then hug her, not me!"

Momoko whined softly. "Miyako-chan, Kaoru is being a meanie!"

Miyako patted Momoko on her shoulder. "There, there, Momoko-san. We know how Kaoru-san can be."

"Yeah, but—"

Kaoru growled. "No. Hugs. Period."

Momoko whined.

The tomboy narrowed her eyes at the redhead. "I mean it, Momoko."

Before the tomboy could add anything else, she felt a vibration in her pocket. Her eyes went wide. Kaoru quickly took out her phone, placing it underneath the desk and away from the redhead and the blonde's view. She looked at her inbox, and she couldn't help but grin in amusement at the text.

_Duuuuuuuude, I need cash._

Kaoru chuckled as she texted back, _Duuuuuuuude, I can't help you out there._

_Maaaaaaaan, screw you. You're supposed to have my back, BC._

_Maaaaaaaan, don't give me that. Not my fault you forgot your lunch money, haha. Wait, it is lunch time over at your school, right?_

"Kaoru, why are you smiling?"

Kaoru blinked and looked back up. She flinched when she saw how Momoko was grinning while Miyako was smiling. The tomboy knew very well that the aura and looks they gave off meant that it was none other than Butch she was texting.

"Kaoru-san, are you going to tell us?" Miyako chirped happily before giggling softly.

"Oh, I have an idea who it is," Momoko added, grinning even more.

Kaoru rolled her eyes, and the tomboy decided not to respond. She might've felt her cheeks go a bit red. Might've. But that was only because her two best friends were teasing her.

"Oh, it _is_ , isn't it? I was right!"

"Shut up, Momoko!" Kaoru exclaimed, frowning. She sighed before adding softly, "So what if it is?"

At this, the redhead and blonde giggled even more, and the tomboy groaned. If it was one thing she hated about them, it was whenever they'd gush over love—or her associated with it—but mainly her. Yeah, definitely her— _especially_ if Butch was in the picture.

But, seriously? Butch was _just_ a friend—well, not just any friend, of course. In fact, he was a very close friend. The bond between them as probably as strong as the bond Kaoru had with Momoko and Miyako. Plus, he kept her sane whenever the redhead and blonde had their "girly" moments.

Honestly, the idea of her and Butch was completely absurd—not to mention cliché as well.

Momoko then giggled before she grinned even more, if that was possible. "Well? You gonna let us see, Kaoru?"

"Hell no!" the tomboy replied as she narrowed her eyes at the redhead.

Momoko pouted. "Why not?"

"'Cause it's none of your business!"

"What?! Oh, come on! Miyako, help me out here!"

Miyako contemplated for a few seconds. "Kaoru-san has a point."

Kaoru grinned and stuck her tongue out at the redhead, who pouted even more.

"However…" Miyako's voice trailed off as she glanced at Kaoru and smiled. "I think we should _at least_ know the topic."

Momoko's eyes practically twinkled. "Yeah, yeah! Tell us, Kaoru!"

Kaoru groaned. She felt another vibration and looked down at her phone again to find a new message.

_BC? You there? Hello? Did Miss Buttercup die on me?_

"Hey, hey, Kaoru, did—"

"Just let me reply, damn it," the tomboy muttered low enough for the redhead and blonde to hear. She groaned once more when they high-fived each other and giggled. Kaoru looked at her phone again and texted, _Yeah, sorry. Just being interrogated by my friends._

_Interrogated? What do you mean by that?_

"You done yet?" Momoko inquired, raising an eyebrow while grinning.

Kaoru sighed. "I got another reply, you know. I have to reply back—"

"Then at least show us, Kaoru-san," Miyako interrupted. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, and I know that's rather rude, but please show us!"

"Yeah, please, Kaoru?" Momoko whined before pouting.

Kaoru sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, just let me reply back again, and I'll show you my phone, if it'll get the two of you to shut up."

Immediately, the redhead and blonde high-fived each other once more and giggled.

The tomboy rolled her eyes again at this before texting to Butch, _Yeah, they're getting weird ideas._ Kaoru then slid her phone over to the redhead and blonde and sighed in irritation.

"Aw, you guys sound like you're flirting," Momoko teased before grinning.

The tomboy growled and narrowed her eyes at the redhead. "We're _not_ flirting."

"Well, Kaoru-san, the two of you act very close," Miyako stated before scrolling through the phone's text messages. "Oh, this! This sounds like they're totally flirting!"

"What?!" Momoko exclaimed. "Where?! Show me!"

Kaoru groaned softly, and she heard more whispers in the classroom.

"Whoa, wait, Matsubara-san is taken? And not by Gotokuji-san? Aw…"

"Hey, cheer up. There's still the Jojo brothers!"

"Oh, yeah!"

Kaoru's eye twitched at this comment before growling softly.

"'Flirting?' Oh, damn, that guy must already have a girlfriend, then."

"That's good, man! That means no competition from him for Gotokuji-san's heart!"

"Oh, yeah, that's right! I'm gonna ask him to help me—"

"Hey, man, I should be the one asking him to help me!"

"What?! Why you? I'm way better suited for Gotokuji-san!"

Kaoru then groaned at this. She really wished she brought earplugs. Oh, if only she could actually find ones that could block out everyone's voice at school—with a few exceptions, of course, such as the school faculty and her two best friends.

The tomboy watched of how the redhead and blonde continued scrolling through her phone, and she cringed every time they squealed softly at any hint of "flirting." Kaoru scoffed softly. There wasn't any flirting whatsoever between her and Butch. It was just how their relationship was. That's all there was to it.

If only she could get the redhead and blonde to realize that.

"Ah, there's a reply!" Momoko exclaimed, grinning.

Kaoru's eyes grew wide. "Okay, give me back the phone—"

"Aw, but how about you let me reply?"

The tomboy flinched. "Hell no!"

"Okay, how about Miyako, then?"

Miyako nodded and chirped happily, "I'll be happy to respond for you, Kaoru-san!"

The tomboy growled. "No, damn it! Give me back my phone!"

Momoko pouted. "Aw, come on, Kaoru. I'll just ask in your place for a date!"

"What the hell?! No!"

"Why not? You two have known each other since elementary—"

Once Kaoru saw an opening, she snatched her phone back, and the tomboy glared at both the redhead and blonde. "No means no, damn it!"

Momoko whined softly while Miyako gave a slight pout.

"But, Kaoru—"

Kaoru cut Momoko off with a glare. "I said no, Momoko. How many times do I have to say that we're _just_ friends?"

"Yeah, but your love story is so similar to Miyako's—"

Kaoru growled as she narrowed her eyes at the redhead. "There _is_ no 'love story,' Momoko! Now, get that stupid fantasy out of your brain! You too, Miyako!"

Miyako sighed softly before pouting once more. "Yes, but Kaoru-san—"

"I said no!" The tomboy then scoffed before looking down at her phone to look at Butch's response.

_Like what, BC?_

Kaoru sighed and replied, _Nah, it's nothing. They're just being weird, man. Don't worry about it._

As soon as the tomboy finished texting, she heard more whispers from the classroom.

"Matsubara-san sure has a temper… He even yelled at Gotokuji-san…"

"Yeah… I'm starting to think that the Jojo brothers are a better choice."

Kaoru growled. The idea of Takeshi being better than her was enough to make the tomboy feel like murdering someone—metaphorically speaking, of course.

"Jeez, I don't wanna get on that guy's bad side. I take back about having him as my wingman."

"I hate to say it, but I agree… You heard about how hostile it can get between Matsubara and Jojo, right?"

"Dude, which Jojo? There are three of them in this school."

"The one that Matsubara almost got into a fist fight with on the first day of school, dumbass!"

"Oh, Jojo Takeshi! That guy has a way with the ladies… Hey, think he could give me advice on how to get Gotokuji-san?"

"Hey now, why you?"

"I just told you I'm better suited for her! You can get Akatsutsumi-san, man!"

Kaoru flinched at this. Her eyes then darted towards the redhead, who was now staring at the desk. The tomboy saw of how Momoko had her bangs covering her eyes, and she knew that the redhead felt hurt. As she watched Miyako place her hands on the redhead's, the tomboy heard more of the conversation.

"Nah, man. You heard those rumors, right?"

"What rumors?"

"You mean you haven't heard?"

Kaoru saw that Momoko flinched before her hands began to tremble. The tomboy watched how Miyako clench the redhead's hands tighter as she frowned at the two boys. It took everything Kaoru had in her to restrain herself from marching up to the two boys and beat the living hell out of them.

"Just what are you talking about? Akatsutsumi-san looks like a nice girl."

"She _looks_ nice, but she's a _stalker_ , man. I heard about it from my friends at the middle school they went to, and I heard some people talking about it here, too. When she likes a guy, she'll just be overly clingy with them—even to the point of stalking them."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at the boys and growled. The tomboy then leaned in and whispered, "Momoko, if you want me to kick their asses, just say the word, and—"

"No," Momoko replied. Her voice was slightly hoarse, but her tone was stern.

Kaoru frowned. "Why not?"

Miyako then glanced at the tomboy. "Kaoru-san, as much as I want you to—"

Kaoru chuckled. "You're hanging around me and Momoko too much, Miyako."

The blonde gave a slight smile. "Yes, well, I've known you two since elementary, after all." She then frowned, glancing at the two boys before whispering, "However, you can't get into trouble, Kaoru-san. Not again, at least."

Momoko then nodded her head. Immediately, the redhead brought her head up, and all remnants of sadness seemed to have disappeared because she grinned at the blonde and tomboy. "We wouldn't want you to get into trouble again."

Kaoru scowled and whispered harshly, "I'll jump them when school ends, then."

Miyako narrowed her eyes sternly at Kaoru. She whispered, "Kaoru-san, you will _not_ hurt them!"

Momoko nodded before muttering, "They'll get what's coming to them, anyway. What goes around comes around."

Kaoru scoffed softly, and unfortunately, the two boys that had open mouths continued chatting.

"Holy shit, I didn't know that…"

"Yeah, so you better watch out. If she likes you—OW!"

The tomboy couldn't take it anymore. Before she knew it, she had already thrown the nearest item: a textbook. She didn't care whose it was. All she wanted was to hurt both of the boys, and if she was going to get punished, then she may as well give them one hell of a beating.

She heard Momoko and Miyako softly protest, but she ignored them. It was already done, so she may as well continue it.

"Who the hell threw that?!" the boy yelled, holding his nose.

Kaoru scoffed as she stood. "Me, you asshole." The tomboy narrowed her eyes as she slowly walked towards the two boys.

The one Kaoru hit was glaring at her while his friend was slightly scared. He was tugging at the other boy's arm, and Kaoru could hear how he was telling the injured male that it was best not to start a fight.

Kaoru growled, and she slammed her hands down on the desk the boys were sitting at, frightening almost everyone in the room. She glared at the protesting boy. "You're involved in this too, so don't think that it's just your friend who's in some deep shit here."

Kaoru knew very well that he was frightened, but he stood up nonetheless. He then yelled at Kaoru, "What's your problem?! Why'd you throw a textbook at my friend?! He didn't do anything to you—"

"Wrong, you asshole!" Kaoru yelled, causing everyone to flinch in the room, except for Momoko and Miyako. She narrowed her eyes at the two boys. "You know, you two have _very_ big mouths. If you're not careful, you could get your asses kicked."

The two boys were already backing away. They continued to head towards the back of the classroom.

The injured male rubbed his nose and then flinched upon touching his forehead. He glared even more at Kaoru. "We didn't do anything!"

His friend then exclaimed, "Yeah! We didn't do anything, so back off, man!"

Kaoru growled. "You two are just full of shit, aren't you?!"

The two boys flinched at her tone, but they continued glaring at her, anyway.

Kaoru walked even closer to the two, and immediately, she grabbed the injured male's shirt. Just as she raised her fist to the boy's face, she heard a long whistle, causing her to stop. She knew that whistle from anywhere.

"Wow, Matsubara. It's already Friday, and you wanna cause even _more_ trouble? And in another _classroom?_ Just _wow._ "

Kaoru growled as she let go of the injured male and put her fist down. She whirled her body around to face none other than Takeshi Jojo, who stood at the doorway. The tomboy narrowed her eyes when she saw that he was smirking at her. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in 1-C or off chasing after girls?"

Takeshi chuckled as he walked towards Kaoru. "Oh, Matsubara, you shouldn't even be using that tone with me. _I_ wasn't the one that was about to start a fist fight now, was I?"

Kaoru growled, and her eyes only narrowed when she saw that the two boys were backing away from her and Takeshi. So much for beating the living hell out of them. The only thing Kaoru was concerned with right now was just punching the daylights out of Takeshi.

"What? Cat got your tongue, Matsubara?" Takeshi mocked as he smirked.

"This is none of your business, Jojo," Kaoru replied as her glare intensified.

Takeshi then frowned. "Unfortunately, it _is_ my business. Ms. Keane told me that if you caused any more trouble, she'll punish not just you, but me as well."

"What—"

Takeshi then leaned in and whispered low enough for only her to hear, "And that's not all, Matsubara. She told me to remind you _again_ that if you don't have the right uniform by Monday, you'll get an even _worse_ punishment than clean-up duty in the classroom. And I can't _wait_ to see just what exactly it is."

Kaoru growled once more. "You fucking _asshole_."

Takeshi backed away as he grinned mockingly at her. "Perhaps it's detention? Maybe suspension?" He chuckled. "Oh, I hope it's the latter. Then, I wouldn't have to see your face at school at all!"

"Look, Jojo, do you _want_ to get punched in the face?! Because that mouth of yours is sure _begging_ for a knuckle sandwich right now!"

Before Kaoru knew it, Miyako appeared before her. She stood between the tomboy and Takeshi as she exclaimed, "Kaoru-san, you must calm down! Violence is not the answer!"

"This guy's asking for it, Miyako! I don't give a fuck if it's not the stupid answer! He's pissed me off ever since we met, damn it! Now get the hell out of my way!"

"Miyako's right, Kaoru!" Momoko exclaimed. She stood next to Miyako in order to block even more space between the tomboy and Takeshi. "You don't want to get into even more trouble!"

"Yes, that's right, Kaoru-san!" Miyako added. "You're already on clean-up duty, right? So there's no need to make it even worse!"

Takeshi chuckled softly. "You should listen to your friends, Matsubara. You wouldn't want to humiliate yourself now, would you? After all, I think we know who would win in a fist fight."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at the boy, and she growled. "That was in the past, damn it! I'll show you just how strong I am, so how about facing me right now, huh?!"

"As much as I'd love beating your ass like I did back in middle school, I gotta go," Takeshi replied calmly before smirking and pointing at the clock. As if on cue, the bell rang, and Takehi's smirk grew even more. "You wouldn't want to be late now, would you?"

Kaoru growled, but she stomped in the other direction and left through the front door of the classroom. It took everything in her to not punch Takeshi. No, punching him was more of an understatement. If anything, the tomboy wanted to _strangle_ him. Maybe that way, he'd keep his mouth shut for good.

"You're going to be late, Matsubara," the tomboy heard him sing.

She whirled her head to her right to find that he was walking beside her. In response, the tomboy only growled at him.

Takeshi sneered mockingly at her. "Is that supposed to _scare_ me? You're going to have do better than _that_ , Matsubara."

Kaoru watched of how he then walked even faster and headed into their classroom. She sped up her pace, and just as soon as she went inside the classroom and headed towards her seat, she nearly tripped just as soon as she passed by Takeshi's desk.

Coincidence? Definitely not.

The tomboy glared at the foot that she tripped over. Then, she whirled her head around to find the owner: Takeshi. She narrowed her eyes at him when she saw that he was smirking at her. The tomboy growled when Takeshi removed his foot and looked away. He now looked stoic, but she knew that he was inwardly smirking at her.

Sensing this silent exchange and the hostility, their teacher quickly cleared his throat. "Matsubara-san? Please sit down. Class is going to start."

"Yes, sir," Kaoru replied before sitting down in front of Takeshi. As the teacher began his lecture, she whispered harshly to Takeshi, "You're gonna regret doing that, you jackass."

She heard him scoff and reply, "Your threats don't scare me, Matsubara."

"They should because you're gonna be in for one hell of a ride when I'm done with you."

The tomboy heard him chuckle, causing her eye to twitch. "Keep dreaming."

Kaoru clenched her pencil tightly. She wanted to punch him so badly. The fact that he stopped her from hurting those two boys in 1-A—wait, what? He _stopped_ her?

The tomboy blinked at this sudden thought, and she frowned before shaking her head. She knew that he did it only to save his own ass. He said so himself. Besides, he didn't really stop her. He just appeared there, and since he pisses the tomboy off a lot more than the other two boys, his presence was more of a nuisance. So, the tomboy actually stopped herself.

But then again, if he wasn't there, she would've punched the two boys. And if that happened, she could've gotten suspension.

Kaoru then frowned. Her school record wouldn't look good with that on it at all. The tomboy didn't bother to glance backward at Takeshi; she knew that he was scribbling notes down because of the sounds his pencil made. As she went back to her note-taking, she felt a vibration in her pocket, and she flinched.

Was it from Butch? Already?

Wait… She never replied to him!

At this, the tomboy resisted the urge to groan. She continued to take down notes as she swiftly took out her phone to check the new message he sent.

_Hello? BC? You there? I'm bored._

Kaoru sighed softly. She glanced up at the teacher to find that his back was to the class as he continued lecturing. The tomboy then texted, _Not now, man. I'm not in the mood, and I'm in class._

_Something happened?_

_Yeah. I'm just majorly pissed off right now. Just text me whenever you're done with your classes. I don't want my phone to get taken away. That's the last thing I need right now._

_All right, but you better reply back when I text you. I got a bit worried when you didn't respond, you know._

_I will, so don't worry. And sorry about not responding earlier, too._

_No problem. Just be sure to tell me about it later, okay?_

_Sure, but that's only if I'm in the mood for it._

_Haha, all right. Talk to you later, Buttercup._

_Okay. Later, Butch._

Kaoru sighed as she shut her phone and put it away. The tomboy decided that the best way to try to get rid of her anger was focusing on the lecture and writing down notes. And so, that's what she did.


	4. Another Ridiculous Punishment

Day: April 15

Time: 12:15 P.M.

Kaoru's face was completely pale, and her eyes were wide. She just couldn't believe it. Did she really have to do it? Her current punishment was already bad enough, but…this was just…

The tomboy then heard her homeroom teacher clear her voice, so she shook herself out of her thoughts. She had to stay calm. No matter what, she had to stay calm. The tomboy let out a long sigh before she finally said, "Ms. Keane, you…you can't be serious."

Ms. Keane pursed her lips, and she closed her eyes. "Unfortunately, I am."

"But that kind of punishment isn't something I can do by myself!" Kaoru exclaimed. She quickly regretted it as she saw other teachers in the faculty office look her way. The tomboy felt embarrassed at her outburst; if anything, she felt like she was a little child for not being punished over something she found…ridiculous!

"That's why I said you'll be spending each week cleaning one floor. However, the cafeteria is an exception. Students often make a mess there every day, so you'll be cleaning the cafeteria daily."

"Ms. Keane—"

"I'm sorry, but this is final. You didn't heed my warnings the first week, and I've told you countless times that you needed to change your uniform."

Kaoru frowned. "Ms. Keane, I don't understand why you can't make an exception."

"If I let you change your uniform, I'll be showing favoritism. Same with the principal, Ms. Matsubara. The fact that none of the students know that you're female—"

"A few do."

"Oh? May I ask whom?"

"Momoko, Miyako, and the Jojo brothers," Kaoru replied before she frowned and pondered. "And I guess some other people from my old middle school—"

"That's the problem right there."

"Yeah, but—"

"Let me finish," Ms. Keane interrupted as she frowned.

Kaoru complied by sighing and closing her mouth.

Her homeroom teacher sighed. "Ms. Matsubara, if there are students from your middle school here that know your real gender, word will get out you're a female, not a male. If that happens, then a ruckus might occur, and female students might follow as well."

Kaoru couldn't help but frown at that. To be honest, out of all of the people she knew in middle school, the only girl that Kaoru could think of who'd wear the male uniform and make this much of a hassle over it was none other than herself. That, and she knew how much all of the girls loved wearing skirts. According to Momoko and Miyako, the skirts made girls feel more "free," compared to pants. Not only that, but they were also very cool to wear during the warm seasons.

"You must understand that this is for the best. Now, all of the faculty members know that you're female, but as a way to keep your gender hidden, we refer to you as 'Matsubara-san.' I already gave you a week to buy the new uniform, but since you didn't listen, I need to punish you. I already went over this with the principal, and he agreed that this would be fair."

"Ms. Keane, I know you're trying to make a point, but believe me when I say that I'm the only girl who'd go _this_ far to wear the male uniform."

"Even if that's true, I need to punish you, anyway. It's part of school regulations. That way, when word gets out that you're a female, the other girls will also know that they'll be punished for not following the rules. Am I clear?"

Kaoru frowned, but nonetheless, she reluctantly nodded.

"All right, then. This week, you'll start cleaning the first floor, and you'll be cleaning the cafeteria daily from now on. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah, I do. So, let's say that I didn't buy the female uniform and stuck with this male one for the entire year. Does this mean that I might get stuck with the punishment for the entire year?"

"Unfortunately for you, yes."

The tomboy let out a long sigh.

"If you bought the right uniform and wore it to school, though, the punishment will be called off. Until you do so, you're stuck with it."

Kaoru refrained from groaning. She knew that there was no way in hell that she'd wear the female uniform. The male one suited to her taste in clothing a lot more. That, and unlike how Momoko, Miyako, and many other girls felt, Kaoru felt she was more "free" and much more comfortable in pants.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"Well, can I have maybe some…helping hands?"

Ms. Keane frowned. "Ms. Matsubara—"

"Look, I know that it's my punishment and that I should do it alone, but can I please have some help? The floors are big, and I still need to study for tests and do my homework, you know? So…please?"

Ms. Keane pondered as she pursed her lips. Afterward, she sighed and nodded. "All right. I'll have Mr. Jojo—"

"Wait, the same one from homeroom?"

"Of course."

"No. I refuse."

Ms. Keane frowned. "Ms. Matsubara, need I remind you again that this is high school. You two need to act civilized. Otherwise, how else will you survive in the actual world? There will be people that you can't get along with, and in the end, you'll have no choice but to deal with them and their attitude."

"I know that. I really do. But Ms. Keane, can I _please_ have someone else help me out instead?" Kaoru asked. She was practically pleading, even though she didn't look like it. The tomboy didn't want to spend even more time with Takeshi than she already had to. The school day plus clean-up duty? That was enough for the tomboy to deal with daily! When Kaoru saw that Ms. Keane looked reluctant, the tomboy quickly added, "I mean, what if…Jojo and I got into another fight, huh? And we ended up making a huge mess? It's easier with eyewitnesses, like our classmates, and with our classroom, but if we have a huge school like this to ourselves, don't you think that we'd end up destroying _some_ amount of school property?"

Ms. Keane pursed her lips at this as she contemplated. "Well, I suppose you have a point…" She then eyed the tomboy before adding dryly, "Considering how short-tempered you are and how you two kept arguing last week. Not to mention the almost physical fights."

The tomboy sighed in relief. "Thank you so much, Ms. Keane. Seriously. You have no idea how grateful I am right now."

Ms. Keane let out a small laugh. "I'll let the principal know about this, but I don't know who to choose to help you."

"Oh, that's fine. I have two people in mind."

"Oh? Who?"

"Akatsutsumi Momoko and Gotokuji Miyako from Class 1-A."

"Momoko and Miyako… Didn't you mention those two as the list of people who know your true gender?"

Kaoru nodded. "They're my close friends, actually."

Ms. Keane contemplated as she slowly nodded her head. "Yes, this…might actually be a good idea. All right, then. Let them know that they're to help you, okay?"

The tomboy grinned and nodded as she resisted the urge to contain her excitement. "Yeah, okay."

"However, this is still your responsibility, Ms. Matsubara. This means that they're not obligated to actually help you if they don't want to—"

"Yeah, okay, got it!" Kaoru interrupted. At this point, she couldn't contain her excitement anymore as she then waved Ms. Keane good-bye and began to head out.

"Wait!"

Kaoru stopped just as soon as she reached the door. She raised an eyebrow at her homeroom teacher. "Yeah?"

"There's still one more thing."

Kaoru's grin began to falter, and the tomboy then frowned. She made no response as she heard Ms. Keane walk towards her. The tomboy then turned around as she sighed, waiting for any more bad news.

"You still need to do your first punishment as well, you know."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "Wait, I thought—"

"That I was going to clear your first punishment?"

"Well, yeah, 'cause, I mean—"

"Nice try, Ms. Matsubara, but clean-up duty is a way for you to learn to get along with Mr. Jojo as well. So until the both of you get along, that punishment will remain there for the rest of the trimester."

"But, Ms. Keane—"

"And if it doesn't get better by the end of the trimester, it will continue for the second and third, which means that unless the two of you clean up your acts and get along in a civilized manner, you two will be stuck with clean-up duty for possibly the entire year."

Kaoru's jaw dropped. "But, you just—"

Ms. Keane raised an eyebrow in response as a way to cut Kaoru off.

Kaoru immediately closed her mouth and sighed. "Fine."

"Good. Then, I'll see you after school to introduce you to the janitor."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "The janitor?"

Ms. Keane sighed. "Yes, the janitor. You'll be cleaning a floor per day and the cafeteria, which means that you'll be helping him as well."

Kaoru sighed and grunted in response. When Ms. Keane waved her good-bye, the tomboy sighed once more before she left the faculty office. Closing the door behind her, she growled softly.

"How did it went, Kaoru-san?"

The tomboy turned her head to the right, and she saw that it was none other than Miyako and Momoko beside her. She frowned. "You two were waiting here?"

"Well, you took forever again to stop by, so we figured something was up," Momoko replied. She then frowned. "So, what happened?"

Kaoru rolled her eyes. She then walked away from the faculty office, and Miyako and Momoko followed her. As they continued to head towards the stairway, Kaoru sighed. "I got another stupid punishment."

Miyako's eyes widened. "Kaoru-san, don't tell me—"

"Don't worry, Miyako. It's just another cleaning punishment."

"Which is?"

"Cleaning a floor every week _and_ cleaning the stupid cafeteria every single fucking day."

Miyako's eyes widened even more as Momoko's jaw dropped.

Kaoru grimaced. "I know."

"That's just cruel and unjust punishment!" Momoko yelled.

"'Unjust?'" Miyako inquired. "We haven't heard the reason yet, Momoko-san."

Before Momoko could retort, Kaoru said, "It's because I didn't change my uniform."

Miyako blinked a few times before saying, "Well, I guess that is rather far for a punishment."

Momoko then ran in front of the two and yelled, "See? I was totally right about the cruel and unjust punishment thing!"

Kaoru snickered before she mocked, "'Thing?'"

Momoko frowned as she continued to walk backwards up the stairs. "Kaoru!"

"What? I'm not the one who said it!"

"Yeah, but at least I'm not the one sticking with cleaning the floors and stuff!"

Kaoru stopped walking up the stairs, and immediately, Miyako and Momoko halted as well. The tomboy hesitated as both her friends stared at her with questioning looks. Eventually, she said, "Actually, I dragged you two into it as well."

"What?!" Momoko yelled.

Miyako narrowed her eyes. "Kaoru-san!"

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down!" Kaoru yelled. "Look, I got a good reason—"

"'Good reason,' my butt!" Momoko yelled as she narrowed her eyes. "I got homework to do, you know—"

"Oh, please. Like you do all of your homework. Hell, I bet you don't even do any of it."

"Hey! I actually do my homework, unlike you!"

"What?! I do my homework, too!"

Momoko scoffed. "Who was the one that copied off of Miyako's at the very last minute in middle school? Oh, that's right! It was you!"

"Hey, don't pin all of that on me! You did it as well, you freaking hypocrite!"

Miyako stepped in between the two before putting her hands in front of their faces. "The two of you need to calm down! Yelling isn't going to solve anything."

Momoko scoffed once more before she turned around. Just as soon as she ran up the stairs, she immediately bumped into a figure and felt herself falling backward. She nearly screamed, but someone caught her. When she looked behind her, she saw that it was Kaoru, and Miyako was right behind her. Just as soon as Momoko was going to thank Kaoru for catching her, she realized that the two of them were staring at something past her.

The pink-eyed redhead was confused until she turned her head. Her face paled slightly.

The "something" in front of her was none other than a male student.

But it wasn't just any male student.

Oh, no. This male student was a redhead, just like Momoko. However, his eyes were red, and his skin was tan—much tanner than Kaoru's skin, in fact. On his head was none other than a red baseball cap that was placed backwards. The male student was glaring at the three of them.

"You three ever heard of using your inside voices?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

Momoko gulped softly.

"Momoko-san," Miyako whispered as she walked up the steps and pulled on her sleeve. "Perhaps you should apologize for bumping into him."

Before Momoko could respond, he replied, "No need for Akatsutsumi to apologize. I'm willing to bet that she doesn't even have a brain in there."

"Hey!" Kaoru yelled as she narrowed her eyes. "Take that back, you—"

"Kaoru, I can handle this," Momoko interrupted as she glared at the male redhead. Inwardly, she could feel her anxiety get to her, but she did her best to not show it. Momoko sighed as she narrowed her eyes at the male redhead. "Jojo, look, I don't care if you said that it's okay for me to not apologize. I'm apologizing, anyway, so…" Momoko's voice trailed off as she looked down at the stairs before she said softly, "I'm sorry for bumping into you. I didn't mean that. It was accidental."

There was a long pause before the male redhead replied, "I'm surprised to see that you transferred to this school." He paused once more to let Momoko finally look at him before adding, "I mean, considering the fact that your grades are—"

"Hey! I just apologized—"

"I just said that I don't need your apology. In fact, it looks rather pathetic coming from someone like you, who has no backbone whatsoever."

"What?! I have a backbone, mister! I'm yelling at you right now, aren't I?!"

He scoffed as he continued to scowl. "Even if you claim you have a backbone, your voice is annoying as ever."

"Excuse me?!"

"See? This is exactly why every guy finds you annoying. You just don't know when to shut that trap of yours. Actually, you don't know how to shut it at all."

Momoko narrowed her eyes at the male redhead. "Jojo Takeo—"

"God, I still remember your annoying little voice from our middle school days," the male redhead known as Takeo interrupted. "You kept chattering endlessly about Urawa." He then paused before asking, "You're not still crushing on him, are you?"

Momoko flinched. Just as soon as Kaoru was about to move forward, she placed an arm in front of the tomboy to stop her from moving further. Kaoru frowned, but she backed off nonetheless. When she saw that Momoko gave her a look that said she could handle it, the tomboy sighed in frustration, but she complied, anyway. Miyako looked like she was about to say something as well, but Kaoru grabbed onto the blonde's arm and shook her head. Miyako frowned, but complied with the tomboy.

"He doesn't even go to this school," Takeo said.

"I _know_ that," Momoko replied.

"Then why bother? Last time I checked, he rejected you and went after that tomboy friend of yours." Takeo paused. "It's a surprise the two of you are still friends."

"That's because I'm not the kind of person to break my friendship with someone over a boy," Momoko replied as she narrowed her eyes.

Takeo raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? 'Cause I remember countless times when you'd get into an argument with that tomboy friend of yours because of Urawa—"

"Jealousy does that to a person! You wouldn't know that kind of feeling because you're always adored by countless girls, like Natsuki-kun! You don't know what it means to envy what another has!"

Takeo immediately glared at Momoko, and Momoko flinched in response. The pink-eyed redhead's face paled when he narrowed his eyes at her. Takeo scowled and said, "You're immature and ignorant. How typical of a teenage girl like yourself."

Before Momoko would retort, Takeo went down the stairs, purposely bumping into the pink-eyed redhead in the process. Momoko glared at him, but he paid no heed as he continued down the stairs. When he was finally out of sight, Momoko began to clench her fists tightly.

The pink-eyed redhead was inwardly fuming, and she closed her eyes as a way to calm herself down.

"Momoko, don't waste your energy on a guy like him," Kaoru growled. "Believe me. I'm dealing with one of them myself."

Momoko let out a long exhale. She sighed before replying, "You're right. He's not worth my anger."

Miyako crossed her arms as she frowned. "Although Kaoru-san is right, I personally think he went too far."

"He's an asshole, just like that Jojo Takeshi," Kaoru said. She then growled as she narrowed her eyes before adding, "Except that Jojo Takeshi's a shitload worse than him. That fucker just gets on my nerves so much that I feel like killing him!"

"Kaoru-san, I understand that you strongly dislike him—"

"I _hate_ him, Miyako. I hate him with _every_ fiber of my being."

Momoko cleared her throat, and she caught the attention of her two friends. "Can we get back to what we were talking about before _he_ came?"

"Oh, yes, that's right," Miyako said before sighing. "Kaoru-san, I don't know if I can help. You know that I have cram school—"

"You've been going to cram school since God knows when, Miyako," Kaoru interrupted as she rolled her eyes.

"That's because I'm taking my future seriously. Even Momoko-san has decided to enroll herself at my cram school as well."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "Wait, what?! And you two never told me about this?!"

"Hey, I tried the cram school thing last week! There is _no way_ I'm going back there again!" Momoko exclaimed. She then scowled. "I only went because I'm annoyed of how Kuriko just goes, 'Oh, look at me, Mom! I'm the top student in my class again!' or 'Mom, look! I did great at today's game! I scored the final goal!'"

The three of them were now walking down the hallway, and the three of them halted their walk when they realized that the hallway barely had any other students.

Sighing, Momoko leaned against the large window. "I swear, that girl just loves being Little Miss Perfect. She even goes to the extent of criticizing me when she herself doesn't even know better!"

"Brats are like that," Kaoru said as she shrugged.

"Yeah, except Sho isn't a snobby, arrogant, annoying little—"

"We get it, Momoko," Kaoru interrupted as she rolled her eyes.

Momoko sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Why apologize, Momoko-san?" Miyako asked. "I think it's perfectly fine that you're annoyed with her." When the tomboy and redhead gave her confused looks, Miyako added as she smiled, "It just shows how much you care about your sister, Momoko-san. They say that sibling arguments or sibling rivalry is a way to deepen that sibling bond."

"If that's the case, then you must really be close to Kuriko," Kaoru said as she grinned. She nudged the redhead. "Come on, Momoko. Don't be all pissed about it, unless you want me to start calling you 'Pissy Pink.'"

Momoko snickered. "What the heck, Kaoru?"

Kaoru's grin grew even wider. "Hey, come on, it's a good nickname."

Momoko shook her head as she started laughing. When she finally calmed down, she said, "Well, anyway, about the punishment—"

Kaoru put up a hand to stop Momoko. "If you guys don't wanna do it, it's fine."

Momoko frowned. "But, Kaoru, don't you plan on joining any sports teams?"

"I can always wait until next year."

"But, try-outs start this Wednesday! And they end by the end of this week!"

Kaoru shrugged. "Like I said, I can wait until next year."

"Kaoru, you're, like, the queen of sports—well, king, since you get mistaken as a dude, but I guess Takeshi has that title, so I guess you get the title of queen—"

Kaoru groaned. "Oh, my God. Don't mention that asshole. _Please._ "

Momoko frowned, and she looked at Miyako. "Miyako, help me convince Kaoru that she needs to join one of the sports teams!"

Miyako sighed. "Kaoru-san, do realize that we can help with your punishment."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "But, what about cram school?"

"I can just take the class that starts at five instead of the one that starts at four."

Momoko frowned. "Wait, Miyako, doesn't that class end at nine?"

"Ten, actually."

"That's _way_ too late for you to go home alone!"

"I can manage just fine, Momoko-san, so there's no need to fret."

Kaoru sighed. "Guys, seriously, I know I dragged you into this, but—"

"Hush, Kaoru-san," Miyako interrupted. "I'm helping you, whether you like it or not. I'll just leave at around…4:30. It takes about fifteen minutes to get there, but thirty minutes if there's traffic."

Kaoru's face practically lit up, but it faltered when she realized that Momoko has yet to respond. At once, she glanced over at Momoko.

Momoko was still frowning. When she glanced at Miyako, who was also staring at her, she sighed. "Okay, fine, I'll help. I have to help out at the library starting at five as well, so I'll be leaving at around that time."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "School library?"

Momoko nodded. "Since the cram school thing didn't work out for me last week, I figured that helping out the librarian and studying from all of those books there would help me somehow with my grades."

"Again, why did I not hear about this?"

Momoko shrugged as she grinned sheepishly. "I forgot to tell you about it until now, to be honest."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at the redhead.

"What? I'm being honest! I'll help you, though, but you totally owe me!"

"I don't owe you anything!"

"Oh, come on, Kaoru!"

"I know what you and Miyako have in mind for me, and there is no way in hell I'm doing it!"

Momoko pouted. "Fine. But you'll need our help one day. I just know it!"

Kaoru rolled her eyes in response. "Anyway, you two meet up with me after school in front of the faculty office, okay? Ms. Keane's gonna go over the whole punishment thing or whatever. Something about meeting up with the janitor and stuff."

Miyako nodded. "All right, then, Kaoru-san."

Momoko nodded as well before she sighed.

"Momoko-san?"

"I'm fine," Momoko replied before she frowned. "I'm just not looking forward to self-studying."

Kaoru grinned. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"If you want, I can help you," Miyako added.

Momoko shook her head. "No, Kaoru's right. I'll just figure something out. Besides, I heard self-studying is the best thing to do rather than group-studying."

"Yes, but I can tutor you, Momoko-san."

Momoko smiled. "Miyako, I appreciate it. I really do. But, you need to focus on your own grades, and let's not forget that you have cram school."

Miyako frowned as she realized that Momoko was right. She sighed. "I can still at least help you."

Momoko shook her head, despite her smile. "I'll be fine. Besides, who knows? Maybe the librarian can help me!"

"Well, I suppose you're right about that… You could always ask our teachers for assistance if you're ever confused."

"Yeah, see?" Kaoru said as she shrugged. "Momoko will be fine." Before Kaoru could continue, she felt something in her pocket vibrate, and a smile slowly crept its way to her face as she realized who it immediately was.

Momoko grinned teasingly. "Kaoru…"

"Shut up, Momoko, or I will seriously punch you—and I won't hold back," Kaoru replied, but the smile on her face was still there as she took her cell phone out. Her smile grew even more when she saw the text she received.

_BC, I'm so fucking bored. And I'm hungry. Seriously. Why can't you be right beside me to lend me some freaking money?_

"That stupid moron forgot his lunch money again," Kaoru muttered as she snickered.

"It's him, isn't it?" Miyako asked as she smiled.

Kaoru nodded in response, and she groaned when Momoko and Miyako began squealing softly. The three of them were doing their best to not attract any attention because even though the hallway was barely empty, there were still some people down the hall in both directions.

At once, the tomboy shushed her two friends. "Guys, seriously. Tone it down."

"She's not yelling at us for once," Momoko whispered before she and Miyako giggled.

Kaoru rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

"Well, Kaoru-san? What does the text say?" Miyako asked.

"He said that he was bored and hungry. And he said that he wanted me beside him"—at this, Miyako and Momoko were practically jumping with excitement—"because he wants me to lend him some money." The tomboy snickered when the redhead and blonde immediately frowned and stopped jumping.

Momoko groaned. "Seriously. Why don't you just meet up with him or something?"

Kaoru shrugged in response.

Momoko frowned. "Kaoru, if he can text you at nearly any time of the day, he can meet up with you!"

"Momoko, it's not that simple."

"Yes, it is! Just text him that you wanna meet up with him!"

Kaoru groaned softly. "You just don't fucking get it."

"Kaoru-san, I agree with Momoko-san," Miyako said. "Do you know what high school he goes to?"

Kaoru shook his head.

"His age?"

"He's my age—maybe a year older. I sort of tease him about it by calling him a pedo from time to time, even though I don't really mean it."

Momoko raised an eyebrow. "Why a pedo?"

Kaoru chuckled. "'Cause the dude has had countless girlfriends, and some of them were, like, what, three years younger than him or something. Besides, we see each other as just bros."

Momoko pouted. "But your love story—"

"How many times do I have to say there's no love story?" Kaoru interrupted as she glared at Momoko.

"Yeah, but you guys—"

"Okay, seriously, stop. This isn't some sort of shoujo manga or whatever, Momoko."

"Don't doubt the power of shoujo manga! You never really know what happens with reality, Kaoru!"

Kaoru groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Miyako, help me. She's being absurd." When she received no response, she looked at Miyako, only to find that the blonde looked like she was agreeing with Momoko. "Oh, God, not you too."

"Kaoru-san, you two have known each other for a long time, haven't you?" Miyako asked as she smiled even more.

Kaoru groaned once more in response.

"Obviously, you two have, but you two never tried once meeting in reality. Why is that?"

"You don't get it either, Miyako," Kaoru replied as she stared at her phone. It vibrated once more when she received another text message from Butch.

_Yo, BC, you there? I'm seriously bored here. Come on, entertain me._

Kaoru scoffed, but a smile made its way to her face again. As Momoko and Miyako began pestering her on what the new message was, Kaoru waved a hand for them to stop talking. The two immediately stopped, and Kaoru texted back, _Don't spam me, man. And stop forgetting your lunch money._

_Bah._

_Pfft. So I guess you did forget it again?_

_Nah. I just keep forgetting to make myself lunch. Too lazy in the morning to get out of bed to make myself a boxed lunch for later. You know, just like always._

Kaoru rolled her eyes. _You're so lazy._

_Says the that gets a boxed lunch made by her mother!_

_Shut up, man!_

_Seriously. If I was there with you, I would jack your freaking lunch and eat all of it—and I mean all of it, BC._

Kaoru smiled even more. _Man, you're a total idiot._

There was a slight pause before Kaoru finally received a response from Butch, and it said, _You seem pretty happy. Did something happen with that muscular dude or whatever?_

_Nah._

_Then what?_

_I just am, man._

_…Okay. You better not be lying to me._

Kaoru couldn't help but snicker. She heard Momoko and Miyako immediately begin whispering to each other about the conversation, but she paid them no heed as she texted back, _I'm not, man. I can't be happy that I'm talking to the best guy friend in the entire fucking world?_

_Oh, God. Someone, call the freaking ambulance. This is not the BC that I know! This is some…clone in disguise! Or maybe someone stole BC's phone… You! You better not be some person posing as BC!_

_Butch, seriously, what the hell?_

_Okay, BC's back. Never mind. Call everything off!_

_What the hell, man?!_

_Haha, sorry, but you seemed too happy for my taste! May as well mess with you._

_Man, fuck you!_

_No thanks, bro._

_Oh, God, I didn't mean it that way!_

_Haha!_

"Come on, Kaoru!" Momoko whined. "Give us the details!"

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Later."

"Why not now?!"

"I'm sure Kaoru-san wants some alone time," Miyako said teasingly.

Kaoru rolled her eyes as she began to walk away from the two. "Remember, meet me after school in front of the faculty office!"

Momoko and Miyako nodded as they waved before the two headed off towards their classroom.

Kaoru sighed as she stared at her phone before texting back, _I hate you, man._

_We went over this so many times, BC. You love me. Seriously. Don't deny the looooove._

_Oh, God. Seriously, Butch?_

_Yes, BC. I'm so fucking serious because you just loooooooooove to deny everything._

_Okay, just stop._

_Love, love, loooooooooooooooooooooooooooove._

_What the hell?! Stop, man!_

_Hahaha!_

_Oh, my God, I feel like punching you right now!_

_Pfft. If only you could. But you can't, so…_

_Don't. You. Dare._

_Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooove._

_Oh, God. I'm gonna stop responding to you now._

_Oh, fuck no! Don't you dare do that, man!_

_I'm doing it!_

_No. Just no._

_I'm doing it!_

_Then you may as well stop replying! The hell?!_

_Haha! Well, later, man._

_Hm? Now? But isn't it lunch time over there as well? I mean, it's my lunch time right now._

_Yeah, it is, but I'm just…not in the mood, honestly._

Kaoru sighed before she frowned. She finally arrived outside her classroom, but she was leaning against the wall next to the door. The tomboy honestly didn't want to enter yet. She looked at the time on her phone, and she saw that it was ten minutes away from lunch ending. She felt her phone vibrate in her hand, so she immediately went to look at Butch's reply.

_What the hell? You were so happy just now. What happened, BC?_

_Ah, nothing. Something got to me. I mean, I'm still happy. But…eh._

_Wanna talk about it?_

_Nah._

_You sure?_

_Yeah._

There was a long pause before Kaoru received a text message from Butch that said, _It's not a good thing to keep things bottled up._

_Man, you don't think I know that?_

_Then tell me. Well, unless you're on your period or something… If that's the case, I'm glad I'm not next to you right now. I swear, girls get so fucking bipolar on their period that it's ridiculous._

_Hey! Dude, I don't get cramps and shit! I don't let out that much blood either!_

_OKAY, TOO MUCH INFO. I DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT._

_Hey, you brought it up._

_Again, I DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT SORT OF INFO._

_What the hell, man?_

_Dude. Dude. No. I know you're a girl, but dude, no. Just no. Let's not go there._

_Haha, why not?_

_One of my exes dragged me to go shopping with her._

_…Oh, no._

_Oh, yeah. She freaking dragged me to the section where there were tampons and shit._

_"Dragged?" Really? The "Oh-I'm-so-fucking-sexy-and-badass" Butch got DRAGGED?_

_Okay, fine. She didn't really drag me._

_Haha, I knew it!_

_But she made me go there with her because if I didn't, she'd end up crying her ass off or some other sort of shit like that._

_Oh, so it was one of those crybaby exes?_

_Pretty much. One of the downsides to being so fucking sexy and attractive to the ladies, haha._

_Jesus Christ, your cockiness is absurd._

_Pfft._

_What?_

_You said "cock."_

_…Man, fuck you._

_Haha! But, seriously, tell me what's on your mind._

Kaoru frowned as she hesitated before she finally texted back, _It's something my two friends said._

_Those same two friends you always tell me about?_

_Who else?_

_Well, what did they say?_

Again, Kaoru hesitated. She couldn't bring herself to reply. She flinched when she got another text message from Butch.

_Buttercup?_

_Yeah?_

_What did they say?_

Kaoru hesitated again.

_God damn it, Buttercup! Just tell me already!_

_Okay! It's just…_

_Just what? Don't send a text that leaves me hanging!_

_Well, it's just that they wanted me to meet up with you and stuff._

There was a long pause before Butch replied, _That's actually not a bad idea._

_Dude!_

_What? Man, you're worrying over nothing! And here I thought someone bullied you or whatever!_

_I'm not the kind of girl who'd be a victim of bullying, you moron._

_Whatever, man. I don't see why you're so worked up over this, anyway._

_'Cause, I mean, we've been texting each other for so fucking long…_

_And? We live in the same city, don't we?_

_We do now, but still._

_Pfft. You're worried over nothing. I didn't know that the great Buttercup would feel this way._

_Hey!_

_Look, I don't mind meeting up with you. I really don't._

_…You don't get it either._

_If you don't fucking tell me what's really on your mind, then I never will. I'm not a fucking mind-reader, BC._

_Well, it's just that… What if things turn out differently once we meet each other in real life? We agreed a long time ago to never even call each other—just text only._

_Yeah, and?_

_I just told you, man! What if things turn out differently?! I mean, what if we end up not getting along in reality or something? Like, what if we end up hating each others' guts or whatever?!_

_Okay, you're seriously worried over some stupid shit like that?_

_I… Well, it just bothers me. You're one of my closest friends, Butch. Even if it's just through…texts and stuff._

_"Stuff." Really? You call the shit I used to send to you before we started texting each other "stuff?"_

_Man, you really don't get it!_

_Fucking hell, Buttercup. You're making this way too complicated when it's simple. If you wanna meet up, then I don't mind._

_No, it's fine. I don't wanna meet up._

_…Okay, I felt a total pang in my chest just now from that. That hurts, man._

_Pfft, because you got rejected by a girl?_

_Well, that, and 'cause you're one of my closest friends as well, BC. We live in the same city now, so we could try meeting up. Like hell we'd end up hating each other or something._

_But what if we do? I mean, you don't know my real name, and I don't know yours. We've been keeping up with this whole alias thing for a longass time, and…what if we end up seeing each other as someone we're totally annoyed with—someone we just can't get along with? I mean, I…I'm not in the mood to lose one of my best friends over something like that. If that's the case, then I don't wanna meet up with you. I'd rather just…leave our relationship the way it is now because I love it the way it already is._

_…Oh, my God._

_What?_

_You finally said "love!"_

_The hell? That's all you freaking focused on?_

_Hallelujah! Praise the fucking Gods!_

_What the hell, Butch?!_

_Haha, I'm kidding, BC! But, seriously, don't stress over some stupid shit like that. We've known each other for a long time, haven't we?_

_Well, yeah…_

_Then, our relationship isn't the type to be severed so easily. Simple. So stop stressing. It doesn't suit you. If shit happens, then shit happens. You can't do much about it, so don't linger on it so much._

Kaoru stared at the text before a grin soon formed on her face. _Thanks, man. I needed that. I swear, your words are like a total bitchslap to my freaking face._

_Well, you're a girl. Girls are sensitive. Trust me, I know. I had way too many sensitive girlfriends._

_Haha, does that include the crybaby girlfriends as well?_

_Of course it fucking includes them. Jesus Christ. Thinking about them makes me head fucking hurt. So fucking clingy and shit._

_Whoa, I hope I didn't stir up bad memories._

_They're not bad. Just annoying. They were completely and utterly annoying as fuck._

_…Soooooooooooooooooo, you never liked them?_

_They interested me. After that, they were all the same to me._

_That's pretty deep for someone like you._

_Yeah, I guess—HEY._

_HAHA!_

_BC!_

_I gotta go! Later, Butch!_

_Buttercup! Damn it!_

Kaoru snickered as she finally closed her phone. She felt a few more vibrations before she set her text message setting to mute. She continued to snicker as she put her phone away. When she walked into the classroom, she was surprised to see that the class was mostly empty.

Only one person was there. And that person was none other than Jojo Takeshi.

Kaoru grimaced, but she was surprised to see that he was there. His back was still towards her, and when she went to walk to her seat, she saw that he was texting someone on his phone. She didn't bother to see who it was. There was no need to because the tomboy knew that he was probably flirting with some girl, like he always was.

She rolled her eyes when she finally sat in front of him. It was honestly surprising because for once, Takeshi didn't even pay attention to her. He seemed so focused on his phone that he took in no account of his surroundings. Kaoru frowned even more, but she didn't bother to turn around.

After all, this was Jojo Takeshi. This was the very guy that she hated with an absolute passion.

She doesn't care about whatever he does, just as long as he doesn't irritate the living hell out of her.

Right now, the two of them were keeping to themselves.

And honestly, Kaoru preferred it this way.


	5. Mutual Necessity Exists

Day: April 15

Time: 3:05 P.M.

Kaoru stood outside the faculty office. A frown was on her face as she continued to tap her foot repeatedly. A few students had already passed by her, and there were many students that happened to see her from a distance. She didn't need to even listen in on their whispers because she knew they were talking about her. The only thing she did do was glare at them, which immediately caused every student to flinch, shut up, and try to dash as calmly as they could away from the tomboy.

Needless to say, she was feeling irritated.

The only thing that would make her mood worse was if she saw him.

Her frown deepened as soon as she thought of him. The tomboy wasn't even aware of the fact that onlookers and passersby felt her dark aura and fled the scene. Now, Kaoru was the only person in the hallway.

When she heard rushed footsteps approaching, she turned her head towards the source. Her face lightened when she saw that it was none other than Momoko and Miyako. Grinning, she asked, "What took you two so long?"

"It's only been five minutes," Momoko replied as she rolled her eyes while smiling.

Kaoru snickered. "Five minutes is a longass time! Well, whatever. We're here, so let's just go in." As soon as Kaoru reached for the door, the door immediately slid open.

The three girls blinked before they saw that the person who stood in front of them was none other than Ms. Keane.

"I thought I heard you out here," Ms. Keane said as she raised an eyebrow at Kaoru.

Kaoru gave a sheepish grin in response.

Ms. Keane then turned her head towards Momoko and Miyako. "Excuse me for asking, but you two are…?"

Momoko nodded. "I'm Akatsutsumi Momoko. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Gotokuji Miyako," Miyako greeted as she bowed slightly to Ms. Keane. "It's nice to meet you."

Ms. Keane nodded back. "Likewise. I'm Ms. Keane. It's nice to finally meet you girls. I've heard good things about you—especially you, Ms. Gotokuji! Top grades, I see."

Miyako smiled sheepishly as Momoko pouted.

"Keep working hard, all right?"

Miyako nodded slowly as she continued to smile sheepishly.

"Uh, anyway, Ms. Keane, you said something about meeting up with the janitor?" Kaoru asked as she crossed her arms.

Ms. Keane raised an eyebrow back at Kaoru. "Yes, but shouldn't you be doing clean-up duty in the classroom?"

Kaoru flinched as her eyes widened.

Just as soon as she was about to dash off, Ms. Keane said, "It's fine! You're already here, so girls, just follow me."

Kaoru blinked a few times. "Wait, so…"

Ms. Keane sighed, but a smile formed on her lips. "That means that today, you can skip classroom clean-up duty."

When Ms. Keane walked past them and her back was facing the girls, Kaoru immediately pumped both of her fists into the air as she mouthed, "Hell yeah!"

Momoko and Miyako snickered.

"Girls?" Ms. Keane called.

"Coming!" the three of them yelled.

Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru followed Ms. Keane through a few hallways. Eventually, the three girls came to an abrupt stop when Ms. Keane stopped walking at a corridor. They each adorned confused faces until Ms. Keane told them to wait there. She then sauntered off down the hallway.

Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru blinked.

"Why did she tell us to stop?" Momoko asked.

"How the hell should I know?" Kaoru replied as she frowned.

"I think I know why," Miyako said. By the time Momoko and Kaoru looked at her questioningly, Miyako was already peering her head past the corridor wall. She turned her head back to look at Momoko and Kaoru. "Ms. Keane is speaking to the janitor."

"Guess that explains why we went around," Kaoru muttered.

Miyako then peered past the corridor wall again until she suddenly pulled her head back. "She's coming."

At once, Ms. Keane appeared before the girls, and she said, "I already told him about the situation, and he'd like to meet you girls. However, I already told him that it'd be best if you girls each get to working immediately. So, who's going to do floor duty, and who's going to do cafeteria duty?"

Momoko immediately raised her hand. "I'll do cafeteria duty!"

Kaoru frowned. "Hell no!"

Momoko pouted. "What? Why?!"

"I know you, Momoko! You're probably planning on stealing some food there!"

"What?! I wasn't gonna steal them! I was gonna pay for them, anyway—"

"You don't have any money!"

"I'll just pay for it tomorrow, then!"

"You'll end up slacking off because of all that food, anyway!"

Momoko scoffed in disbelief. "What?!"

"Actually, Kaoru-san might have a point," Miyako said.

Momoko pouted and whimpered. "Miyako, you're taking Kaoru's side?"

"I'm not siding with anyone. I'm simply stating a logical fact."

"'Fact?!' You don't know for sure that I'll slack off!"

"You know what? Screw this! _I'll_ be doing cafeteria duty!" Kaoru exclaimed. Just as soon as Momoko opened her mouth to retort, Kaoru added, "And that's _final._ "

Momoko pouted even more.

Ms. Keane stared at the three girls as she smiled sheepishly at their bickering. The teacher honestly didn't know how to respond.

Miyako cleared her throat, which gained everyone's attention. "Ms. Keane, I can't stay here for the entire time. I have cram school at five, and I need to leave at least 4:30."

"Yeah, and I gotta help at the school library at around five," Momoko added.

Ms. Keane nodded slowly as she processed this information. "All right, then. Just be sure to let the janitor know when you girls go talk to him. Make sure you introduce yourselves to him and tell him that he can meet Matsubara-san in the cafeteria. Also…" Ms. Keane then held up three keys before she smiled and handed a key to each of the girls. "These are for you girls."

The girls each inspected the key before looking at Ms. Keane with questioning looks.

"Excuse me for asking, but what exactly are these used for, Ms. Keane?" Miyako asked as she tilted her head.

"They're keys to the janitor closets around the school," Ms. Keane replied. "You girls will find them very useful. Make sure not to lose them. I had the janitor make a few extra keys ahead of time last week—"

"Wait, so you planned this?!" Kaoru immediately yelled.

"Kaoru-san!" Miyako scolded.

Kaoru turned her head to look at Miyako, who was narrowing her eyes at the black-haired female. "Didn't you hear her?!"

"I did, but it's rude to interrupt!"

"But—"

Miyako raised an eyebrow as a way to cut Kaoru off.

Kaoru frowned in response, but nonetheless, she kept quiet.

Ms. Keane cleared her throat. "As I saying, I had the janitor make a few extra keys ahead of time last week because I know that Matsubara-san is a _very_ stubborn person." At this, Ms. Keane glanced over at Kaoru.

Miyako and Momoko nodded in agreement at this statement as Kaoru began to grin sheepishly.

A smile slowly formed on Ms. Keane's face, but it quickly faded before she said, "Thus, I knew that she wouldn't listen to me, so I had this punishment planned out ahead of time."

Kaoru then began to grumble softly before Miyako and Momoko snickered.

"Anyway, Akatsutsumi-san, Gotokuji-san, get to work," Ms. Keane said.

After Momoko and Miyako nodded in response, Ms. Keane gestured them to go aid the janitor. The redhead and blonde waved to Kaoru, wished her luck, and quickly went off to help. Ms. Keane then looked at Kaoru before raising an eyebrow.

Kaoru blinked a few times. "I know where the cafeteria is."

"That's good. I won't have to show you there, then. The lunch lady won't be there, so you can't go inside the kitchen area or food storage because the doors will be locked. You'll just be cleaning the floor and the tables—"

"Wait, tables?" Kaoru asked as her eyes widened.

Ms. Keane nodded. "You know how students are with gum."

Kaoru resisted the urge to curse out loud at this.

"If you need anything, just go to a nearby janitor's closet and use that key I gave to you. Understood?"

Kaoru nodded as she continued to curse herself for even agreeing to cafeteria duty in the frist place. If the kitchen and food storage areas were off limits, then Momoko couldn't even steal food, anyway!

"If I recall correctly, Gotokuji-san and Akatsutsumi-san said they were going to leave early?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah. Cram school for Miyako, and school library for Momoko."

"Then I expect to see that you finish up after them after you're done with cleaning the cafeteria. I doubt those girls will be able to finish this entire first floor. The janitor will be working on the other floors, so if you ever need him for anything, the other floors will be your clue to find him."

Kaoru nodded again. "Got it."

"Then, I'll be leaving now. Good-bye, Matsubara-san. I wish you luck."

A soft sigh escaped from Kaoru's lips as she heard the footsteps of her homeroom teacher begin to echo through the hallway. Kaoru didn't even notice that the footsteps came into an abrupt stop until she heard her homeroom teacher call out her name. At once, the tomboy turned her head and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Ms. Keane smiled before saying, "We'll be having a pop quiz tomorrow in class."

Kaoru's eyes widened as Ms. Keane turned around and continued walking away. Her homeroom teacher finally turned around the corner, and the footsteps finally echoed away until no sound was heard.

Kaoru blinked once.

Then twice.

Her eye twitched.

Kaoru then let out a long groan before she finally said, "God damn it."

* * *

_Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat._

Takeshi frowned as he continued to hit the erasers against each other.

_Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat._

Endless dust clouds seem to form one after another, which made Takeshi frown even more.

_Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat._

"Where the fuck is Matsubara?" Takeshi muttered as he narrowed his eyes. At once, he began to hit the erasers against each other even more quickly than before.

_Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat._

His eyes narrowed when the dust clouds grew even bigger. He let the dust clouds fade as he glanced out of the corner of his eyes. This week, it was two guys who were on actual clean-up duty. He could tell from the way the boys distanced themselves from the black-haired male that they feared him.

Not that he wouldn't blame them, of course. The entire class of 1-C witnessed his arguing with the tomboy daily in every class nearly every single minute, and sometimes, that arguing was very close to becoming physical.

He frowned even more when he was reminded of what occurred just a few hours ago. It was during class, and he and Kaoru were arguing. He didn't remember what it was over. All he remembered was of how the tomboy was practically irritating the fuck out of him.

He kept his temper. He kept his cool.

But even a person has their limits.

For some reason, with this girl, he felt irritated to no end. He honestly blamed this because of middle school.

Takeshi could remember when the two first met, and that meeting was definitely not pretty—unless you consider a bunch of lockers getting destroyed and large dents in many walls a "pretty" sight to behold.

His frown then grew into a complete scowl. "Stupid bitch better not be skipping."

Takeshi could hear the other two guys whisper to each other as he continued to hit the erasers against each other.

"'Bitch?' Who's this bitch he's talking about?"

"I don't know, man. I didn't think that Takeshi would have anything out against a girl."

Takeshi scoffed softly as he began hitting the erasers even harder against each other. Last time he checked, nearly the entire school thought that Kaoru was a dude, not a girl. The same thing happened in middle school.

Honestly, he didn't give a damn about this. Besides, if Kaoru was mistaken as a dude, it was easier to hit her that way. Everyone would just think that it's a brawl between two boys, and no one would dare to interfere.

Plus, it was a good thing to taunt her about. Hell, maybe even blackmail, but he'd need something juicier to do that to the tomboy.

_Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat._

The dust clouds began to stop forming, and at the final impact, no dust cloud came out.

"Finally," Takeshi muttered as he rolled his eyes. When he went to go put the erasers away, he heard the boys continue to whisper as they were mopping the floor.

"Isn't he a ladies' man?"

"He is. He's got a shitload of girls after him."

"Oh, yeah. I heard about his brothers getting all of the fame, too. What were their names again?"

"I don't know, man."

"Hey," Takeshi called.

The two boys flinched, and they turned around to find a stoic Takeshi.

Takeshi stared at them calmly for a few seconds before saying, "If you're gonna talk behind someone's back when they're here"—at once, he quickly narrowed his eyes and frowned, causing the boys' eyes to widen—"then you may as well say it to their fucking face."

Takeshi sauntered over to the two, and he watched of how they began to cower slightly in fear. However, he paused when he immediately caught sight of his desk. There was a slight dent—hell, a crack was more like it—and that was because of what occurred today between him and Kaoru.

Takeshi frowned even more at this. He really wanted to punch Kaoru in the face now. Perhaps even more than that since the tomboy didn't even show up for classroom clean-up duty. He quickly snapped his head at the two boys and said calmly, "You two know where Matsubara is?"

They both shook their heads.

Takeshi narrowed his eyes once more.

They both flinched, and one said, "We really don't know!"

The other boy's features calmed slightly before he said, "Wait, I think I saw him outside the faculty office earlier today."

"Oh, yeah, you told me about that." The boy then paused. "Now that I think about it, that guy's been going to the faculty office lately."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Yeah, but I saw him going there a lot during lunch last week."

"Maybe it has to do with Take—" The boy stopped himself once he was aware that Takeshi was still in the room. He began to stammer as he tried to explain, but Takeshi was already on his way to leave. Both boys flinched when Takeshi slid the door open very hard.

The only thing on Takeshi's mind right now was finding Kaoru. And once he did, nothing civilized was going to happen between the two. _Nothing._

As he went down the stairs, his stoic face came back. He headed towards the faculty office and found that the tomboy wasn't there. Takeshi frowned because he knew that going in without a legitimate reason wouldn't be a good idea. He then began to walk around the first floor until he finally passed by the cafeteria doors.

His walking came into an abrupt stop when he heard a large clatter.

And then came that voice he'd recognize anywhere.

"Fucking hell!"

Takeshi then slowly walked back to look at the cafeteria doors. He stepped closer and looked through the windows. There, on the floor, was none other than Kaoru, who had apparently slipped. He raised an eyebrow until he saw that there was a large puddle of water. He then noticed that near the tomboy was a mop and a large bucket.

"God damn it!" he heard the tomboy yell as she slowly got up before she slipped and fell again.

Takeshi snickered as he sneered. Forget what he was planning to do to the tomboy. This was ten times better, for crying out loud! All that was missing was the look of pure humiliation on her face. He paused in his thinking as a sudden idea popped into his head.

The sneer on his face grew even more.

* * *

Kaoru groaned as she grabbed onto a nearby table and successfully stood up. She slowly walked out of the puddle of soapy water. Her uniform was completely drenched because she fell a few times already. The tomboy had accidentally knocked the bucket over when she tried placing the mop back into it.

The tomboy grimaced as she glanced at the puddle. "I just finished mopping the stupid floor, too. The hell?"

"Oh, man, I never thought I'd see this."

Kaoru's eyes widened. She knew that voice. Just as soon as she turned around, she saw him hold up his phone, and a shutter sound was heard. Her eyes were completely wide as she stared at Takeshi, who was currently chuckling as he stared at the photo he took.

"That's a nice look you have, Matsubara," Takeshi said before he turned his phone over.

Kaoru's eyes narrowed. "Delete that damn photo."

"Who's gonna make me? You?" Takeshi sneered before another chuckle escaped his lips. "Oh, man, this just totally made my day."

"Why, you fucking—"

"I didn't think you'd get assigned to cafeteria duty, Matsubara. If I had known this, I would've bought some food here and dump it all over the floor—just for you."

"That's such a wonderful gift," Kaoru replied sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. She then narrowed her eyes at him once again. "Why the fuck are you here?"

"You skipped out on classroom cleaning duty, bitch."

Kaoru smirked slightly in triumph. "Ms. Keane excused me from it."

"Oh, but you still have to do it, don't you?"

Kaoru's smirk began to falter.

A mocking laugh came from Takeshi. "I'm right, aren't I? Wait, don't even answer that because I know I am." A sneer formed on his face. "This is just rich. _The_ Matsubara Kaoru is actually doing cafeteria duty, and she looks fucking terrible!" He paused before adding, "Then again, you were always one ugly girl."

Kaoru scoffed. "Like you're any better looking, hotshot. I don't see why so many girls are into such a guy like you."

"Me? Please. I'm fucking hot, period. You? You're like the ugly duckling—except that you don't turn into a beautiful swan."

Kaoru rolled her eyes as she went over to pick up the large bucket, making sure to not slip. Last thing she needed right now was humiliate herself in front of Takeshi, and knowing him, he'd probably never let her live that down—ever. The tomboy managed to pick up the large bucket successfully, and she got out of the large puddle of water on the floor.

She glanced over at Takeshi, who was still sneering at her. The tomboy scoffed.

The sneer on Takeshi's face grew even more.

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. "I don't have time for this, and I especially don't have time for _you_ , so just leave me alone, Jojo. I got a shitload of other things to do."

Before he could retort, Kaoru left the cafeteria, leaving behind wet footprints on the floor.

When the cafeteria doors slammed shut, Takeshi scoffed. "Once a bitch, always a bitch."

* * *

_Butch, help me._

Kaoru sighed after she sent that text. The tomboy was in the hallway, and she was trying to find a nearby janitor's closet. She sighed as she put her phone away when she finally found it. As soon as she unlocked the door, she opened it and stepped inside. The tomboy then placed the bucket down in the corner before looking for a dry towel. When she found it, she grabbed it and left the closet.

The tomboy felt a vibration in her other pocket as she locked the closet door. As she put the key away, she quickly took out her phone and looked at the new text she received.

_What's wrong?_

Kaoru sighed and leaned against the closet. _I don't know what to do._

_Buttercup, if you don't fucking tell me what's wrong, I can't help you._

_It's that jackass again._

_What did he do?_

_I'm just…tired of him._

_Elaborate._

_Dude, I'm just stressed at the moment. He fucking waltzes in and tries to piss me off, and honestly, I don't wanna fucking deal with him._

_And what are you exactly stressed with?_

_I got piled with school shit from my homeroom teacher._

_The fuck you mean by that?_

_Like, physical labor shit._

_Oh, that._

_Yeah, that._

_Well, if you're tired, just ignore him._

_That's gonna be difficult._

_And how the fuck is that gonna be difficult?_

_Dude, you know how much I get easily pissed off at him, and you know how much of a short temper I got. That shit's, like, fucking impossible._

_Just fucking do it. Maybe it'll get him off of your back for good._

Kaoru scoffed. _What makes you say that?_

_Worked with my ex-girlfriends. Maybe it'll work with him._

Kaoru blinked before she frowned and looked through his past text messages.

_Buttercup?_

Kaoru paused before replying, _Is there something wrong, Butch?_

_What makes you say that?_

_You sound all…serious. You don't sound like the Butch I know._

_I'm not in the best of moods myself._

_What happened with you?_

_My day was made, and then it just died._

_…Hah?_

_The bitch didn't give me the reaction I expected. I got pissed off at her, and she fucking brushed me off coolly like I was nothing. I feel like punching something right now._

Kaoru blinked. _You sound like you're basically confessing your love or something._

_The fuck? Where did you get that from?_

_…I don't know. Maybe it's because of my two friends I'm always telling you about._

_What about them?_

_Well, one of them is a total love-obsessed fanatic—she reads a lot of shoujo manga and watches a lot of shoujo anime and romance dramas—so you can kind of guess what happens…especially with my other friend as well. And, well, you…know how they can be and all._

_…Pfft. Yeah, I get it._

_…Yeah. Anyway, you feel irritated because she ignored you, right? Doesn't that point to signs of you liking her?_

_Me? Like her? You've gotta be fucking kidding me._

_Well, if love can turn into hatred, then hatred can turn into love, right? That's what my two friends are always preaching about—especially when it comes to shoujo manga and all._

_Again, you've gotta be kidding me. This is reality, not fiction, Buttercup._

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

_…Buttercup, I want you to think very hard about what you're saying. What you're saying right now is like the idea of you and that jackass getting together._

Kaoru then flinched and grimaced. _Oh, God. Okay. Never mind. Yeah, I take that back._

_Haha, exactly._

_You feeling better?_

_I don't know._

_You calm at least?_

_I am calm. Hell, I'm usually calm. Well, except when she's in the picture. Then, it's like…_

_…Like what?_

_Never mind. Forget it._

_The hell? Tell me._

_Nah, I'm good. Some things are just better left unsaid._

Kaoru frowned.

_Don't worry about it._

_You fucker. You better tell me one day._

_Haha, maybe. I'll think about it._

_Hey, I never said anything about letting you make a choice!_

_Pfft. I'll tell you when I want to, Buttercup._

Kaoru scowled.

_So, when are we gonna meet up?_

Kaoru's jaw dropped slightly, but she quickly regained her composure by shaking her head. As she began heading back towards the cafeteria, she texted, _Never._

_Aw, come on._

_No._

_Seriously, Buttercup? Come on. Haven't you ever wondered what I looked like and stuff?_

_Fucking hell! I said "no," damn it! I said it earlier, too. The hell?!_

_Why not?_

_I told you why, you idiot! I like our relationship the way it is already!_

_Maybe it could advance if we meet up._

_…The fuck you mean by that?_

_Oh, you know, if you actually turned out to be cute and stuff._

_The hell?! I don't do that shit!_

_Hey, man, I love that shit._

Kaoru rolled her eyes. _Of course you do—just like any other guy._

_Haha, I'm willing to bet that muscle dude you like is into cute girls, too._

_I. Don't. Like. Him._

_Bitch, please._

_I told you about this already! I don't like him!_

_Man, you need a love life._

_And you need to back off of your love life and focus on other shit._

_Haha, BC, you don't really know me. Trust me on this._

Kaoru frowned. _What makes you say that? I do know you, man. You're Butch—one of my best guy friends ever, even if it's just through this…method._

_Haha._

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at this. _The hell?_

_It's nothing, haha._

Kaoru frowned. _Again, what the hell?_

_I said it was nothing, BC. Don't stress, man. You already got shit on your shoulders, don't you? You don't want your hair to gray now, do you?_

_Man, fuck you._

_Haha!_

Kaoru rolled her eyes. _Thanks._

_I should be thanking you._

_Why?_

_Texting you always makes my day._

Kaoru grinned. _I thought your day was already made._

_Well, you made it even better, BC._

_Back at you, Butch._

Kaoru sighed when she was in front of the cafeteria doors again. She texted, _Look, Butch, I gotta go. Gotta deal with that shit I mentioned._

_That's cool. Just text me later._

_Haha, all right. Later, Butch._

_Later, BC._

Kaoru smiled as she put her phone away and headed inside the cafeteria doors.

"The fuck you smiling about?"

Kaoru's smile faded when she heard that voice. She whirled her head to find that Takeshi was leaning against the wall near the cafeteria doors. In his hand was none other than his phone, and the tomboy was reminded again that he took a picture of her.

She then remembered Butch's advice about ignoring Takeshi.

Of course, when Kaoru saw that Takeshi was staring back at her calmly, she realized that doing something like that really would be impossible for her. There was just no way for Kaoru to even ignore him. No way in fucking hell. Maybe it was easy for Butch, but definitely not for the tomboy.

Kaoru frowned. "Why the fuck are you still here?"

"'Cause I can be. I don't have anything else to do."

Kaoru sneered slightly. "That's pretty sad, coming from someone like you. Shouldn't you be out on a date or something?"

"Well, in case you don't remember, Little Miss Bitch, I got stuck with clean-up duty with you, so that ruins my schedule for dating."

Kaoru scoffed. "You're done with clean-up duty in the classroom, aren't you? Then fucking leave me alone already."

"Hm, well, I _can_ leave."

"Then fucking leave—"

"But I think I'd rather stay here and watch you clean up." Takeshi still had a calm face, but Kaoru knew that the tone in his voice meant that he was completely mocking her.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. She was already tired from mopping the entire kitchen floor after cleaning up the mess that the other students left behind. It ranged from leftover chip bags to containers and leftover food that weren't even bothered to be picked up and thrown in the trash. It just irritated the tomboy to no end.

And honestly, it really tired her.

The tomboy sighed softly as she then went to the puddle and bent down. She began wiping the floor with the towel. After she wiped at least half of it gone, she felt Takeshi's gaze on her. The tomboy turned her head, and she frowned when her instincts were right.

His dark green eyes were definitely on her, but his face remained as stoic as ever. He was still leaning against the wall with his cell phone in his hand.

Kaoru frowned and scoffed. "How about taking a picture? It'll last longer."

Takeshi continued to stare at the tomboy in response.

Kaoru scowled as she narrowed her eyes. "The fuck you looking at?"

And once again, the staring—perhaps more like glaring because of Kaoru—contest continued between the two.

Kaoru was still bent over and on her knees, not even moving a muscle. She was well aware that she didn't have the time to deal with someone like Takeshi. For crying out loud, she'd have to work on the first floor after she's done with the cafeteria, and it wouldn't be long until Momoko and Miyako had to leave. And yet, the tomboy refused to be the first to break her gaze.

Takeshi eventually frowned, and he scoffed as he turned away his head.

Kaoru frowned as well, and just as she was about to wipe the puddle again, she heard him mutter something. The tomboy turned her head and asked, "What did you say?"

"I said that it's nothing," Takeshi replied.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at this, but she went back to her clean-up duty. She didn't even bother to turn her head when she heard the cafeteria doors open. The tomboy knew very well that Takeshi was leaving, and she sighed as she continued to wipe the floor.

She frowned as she muttered, "That was weird."

It was then the tomboy realized something, and that thought itself made her pause her actions.

For as long as she could recall, she and Takeshi were always at each others' throats—both verbally and physically. She could even remember their middle school days, which were full of… Well, to put it bluntly, those days were full of shit, period.

And yet, today of all days was the very one day of where for once, she and Takeshi actually interacted in a more civilized manner—despite their language, of course.

Kaoru knew that it was just a moment of silence exchanged between the two, and she knew that she was glaring at him whereas he just stared calmly back. But the tomboy knew this: for once, they weren't _exactly_ at each others' throats.

Kaoru blinked her light green eyes and shook her head before she muttered, "You're over thinking about this, Matsubara. The stress must be getting to you." As she went back to cleaning, Kaoru sighed.

Right now, the only person Kaoru wanted to talk to about this—the only person that Kaoru wanted by her side at this very moment—was none other than Butch.

Butch in the very flesh right next to her.

But then things would get complicated if he really was here.

Everything would change.

Nothing would be the same.

Kaoru knew that it was best to leave their relationship as just a virtual one, even if Butch would disagree with her on this.

After all, they lived in two different worlds: the world of reality and the virtual world.

* * *

Takeshi was now in Class 1-C. The other two boys had already left, and he knew that meant clean-up duty was over. Originally, he was planning on just getting his backpack and leaving.

What he _didn't_ plan on, though, was sitting in his assigned seat and then leaning back against the desk behind him. His feet were practically propped on the top of his desk, and he was holding his phone up.

His dark green eyes stared at the words on the screen.

_Me? Like her? You've gotta be fucking kidding me._

_Well, if love can turn into hatred, then hatred can turn into love, right?_

"That's just a plain load of bull," Takeshi muttered as he continued to stare at the screen before scrolling down. His eyes then stared at one sentence.

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

Takeshi continued to stare, practically hearing those words echo in his head. Eventually, he scowled.

There was never a time that he thought of Kaoru was an attractive girl.

Her two friends, though? Sure. Maybe. But they never really piqued his interest.

At once, Takeshi recalled the amount of girls he's been with. To him, each and every single one of them were the same. His interest in every single one of them never lasted for a long time. In fact, the longest relationship he was ever in with a girl was at most a week before he dumped them. By then, they would be so attached to him that he just got annoyed.

No, not annoyed.

More like sick.

For Takeshi, it was absolutely _sickening_ to watch someone cry over something so trivial.

Even if it was just a break-up.

At once, Takeshi scowled. He honestly doesn't even remember any of their names or faces. All of them were just…mundane for someone like him.

He was well aware that Kaoru was anything _less_ than mundane, but he _wished_ she was. If she was, then he never would feel like snapping at her.

And that itself was just an understatement.

The tomboy was downright defiant. She was irritating to the very core, and yet, his calm demeanor could always be cracked somehow because of her. He recalled the moment when they first met. Hell, he remembered the day as though it was just yesterday.

He could recall the way they accidentally bumped their shoulders against each other when they went their opposite ways.

He could recall the way he rudely addressed her. He had heard about the famous Matsubara Kaoru as the only girl in school to wear a boy's uniform and practically kicking ass in every single sport, but he could care less about that sort of information.

Whether or not his opponent was male or female—he just didn't care. His attitude towards them didn't differ unless he expected something out of it.

He could recall the way he expected to see her cower, just like every other girl in their middle school—which was why he only went out with girls from other schools—but instead, she was defiant.

She yelled straight back.

She _cursed_ at him.

Hell, she didn't even hesitate to walk closer to him, and she was completely in his face as she continued to throw a string of curses at him.

He remembered of how he threw an insult back and glared at her.

She then tried to punch him, and he blocked it. After that, everything became physical, resulting in lockers getting destroyed and large dents in walls, courtesy of Takeshi.

And that was how their hatred for each other started—right in their first year of middle school.

At once, he could feel the wave of memories he had in middle school with the tomboy.

And almost immediately, he recalled their very first physical fight that was successful for once.

He could recall their argument going straight from verbal to physical, just like how their interaction normally went. Their actions would always be stopped because of fellow students fleeing and screaming, a nearby teacher rushing in to stop—the list was just endless. Sometimes, their interaction would end just as soon as Takeshi caught her fist, and he'd never be able to throw one back because of _some_ sort of interruption.

But that time was different.

 _Much_ different.

Instead, she caught him off-guard and landed a good punch to his face.

He could still remember that feeling he had back then.

The pain from the punch.

The thrill he felt when he was sent straight to the floor.

And most importantly, the _adrenaline_ that coursed through his very veins and made him lose all reason to hold back and attack the tomboy with every ounce of his strength.

Best of all, she never even held back with her strength, and that itself made that adrenaline of his grow even more. Their fight continued until it was just him standing above her beaten, bruised body, making him the victor of their match.

He could still recall how she shot him an angry glare when she was on the ground and how he smirked in response as his eyes opened with glee. He could remember that adrenaline building up again, thinking that she'd get up for another match, but it immediately faded when the two were caught and sent to the principal's office for fighting on school grounds.

His eyes instantly shot open, feeling a bit of that same adrenaline coursing through his veins again from that mere memory. He blinked before remembering that he was actually in the classroom again and that he was holding up his cell phone. At once, he stared at Buttercup's text message again.

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

His eyes lingered on the last five words.

_…haven't you ever considered it?_

Takeshi frowned and replied out loud, "Like hell I ever fucking considered it. Why the fuck _would_ I? She's ugly as fuck, and she's a bitch." He paused before subconsciously touching the same side of where Kaoru punched him three years ago, and he muttered, "A short-tempered bitch who knows how to throw one hell of a punch."

He felt that adrenaline of his coursing through his veins from just recalling that punch.

And the more he thought about their physical fight, the more he felt it continue to grow and build up inside of him.

It was practically _aching_ and _urging_ Takeshi to go fulfill it.

Takeshi growled as he continued to stare at the five words once more.

_…haven't you ever considered it?_

He scowled as he snapped his phone shut and immediately stopped leaning back in his chair, moving his feet off of his desk. As soon as the chair's legs and his feet were touching the floor again, he growled once more.

That adrenaline of his was still inside of him.

It was now practically _screaming_ at him to try to go pick a fight with Kaoru. It needed to be satiated, and it knew that Kaoru was _just_ the person to do it.

She was the _only_ person to do it.

After all, just her _alone_ could help build that adrenaline he would feel, compared to countless situations when it was just him against—

"Fuck!" he cursed out loud as he immediately stood up and kicked his desk, which immediately caused the entire row of chairs to move forward in disarray.

He was panting—heaving, in fact.

Takeshi growled as he immediately realized his calm demeanor was completely ruined. He could already feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, and he could no longer ignore that feeling.

He held it in for a week. He thought that he would never see the tomboy again after graduating, and he thought that things would change in his—and his brothers'—favor, but instead, she showed up at his high school as well.

That meant he had to survive three more years.

Three more years with _her._

And he couldn't just get into a fight with her like he did in middle school or else everything would fuck things over for him _and_ his brothers.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck!_ " he yelled as he began kicking desks and chairs about. Eventually, the entire classroom was left in disarray; all of the rows were now completely messed up, and some chairs and desks were flipped over.

Takeshi growled, took his backpack, and stormed out of the classroom and school. Even when he walked through the hustling and bustling of Tokyo City's streets, his adrenaline was still screaming at him to just do something to satiate it—to satiate the _true_ him.

"Just get home as fucking quickly as you can and sleep it off," he muttered lowly as he passed by a park. He immediately saw a group of delinquents from another school heading his way. He could tell by their demeanor that everyone was heading out of their way—everyone except for Takeshi.

In fact, Takeshi simply stood as they finally crossed paths.

The delinquents each glared at him, and Takeshi stared back calmly.

His adrenaline was screaming at him to use this as a chance to satiate it.

But he couldn't.

He was wearing his school's uniform.

And everything would fuck over if he gave into his adrenaline.

"Hey fucker, get out of our way!"

"Yeah, get out of our way!"

"Unless you wanna get your ass kicked!"

A laugh escaped from the fourth delinquent's mouth. "Yeah! Your face won't be looking so pretty after we're done with you!"

The delinquents each gave a hearty laugh.

Takeshi gave no response as he continued to stare at them calmly.

Seeing this, the delinquents each frowned and looked at each other.

"Hey, fucker, you listening?"

One of the delinquents snorted. "I bet he's just a dumb pretty boy!"

"Hell yeah! Just look at him! He should be—"

The delinquent speaking cut himself short when he sensed a dark aura. He gulped and looked at Takeshi.

Takeshi was now glaring darkly at them, and the aura he gave off was anything _but_ merciful.

The delinquents each widened their eyes and began backing away.

As soon as Takeshi gave them a sadistic smirk, a mischievous gleam appeared in his eyes. He tilted his head before saying, "A week is a fucking long time." Takeshi stepped forward, and the delinquents immediately flinched and backed away. He smirked even more at their reactions. His adrenaline was practically _screaming_ at him to just _pummel_ them right then and there.

"H-Hey, man, we'll let you go right past us!"

"Y-Yeah! We're sorry!"

"Don't kill us!"

At once, the delinquents each moved to the side.

Takeshi scoffed, but nonetheless, he walked past the delinquents, still trying to suppress his strong urge. Even from a distance, he managed to hear the delinquents' conversation.

"Wait, spiky black hair, dark green eyes, pale skin… Oh, shit!"

"What, man?"

"Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man, we're dead!"

"The fuck you talking about?!"

"You guys don't recognize him?! He's one of the Jojo brothers!"

"WHAT?!"

"Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man, we're gonna die—"

"Stop being such a pussy and man the fuck up!"

"You're not the one who had a friend go through one of their beatings, so don't talk, man!"

Takeshi scoffed as he rolled his eyes while going around the corner. He continued to walk through the streets of Tokyo City until he finally sighed in frustration.

His adrenaline was still there, screaming inwardly at him to satiate it.

Takeshi growled, scaring some of the people who he passed by. He practically stormed into a nearby cafe. He did his best to put on his calm demeanor, and he did his best to release his adrenaline by flirting with the waitress, who looked as old as he was, as he was led to a table.

But it was useless.

It was still there, continuing to taunt him as he sat down, and just as the waitress was going to give him a menu, he shook his head.

"Just a cup of lemonade is good enough for me," he said before winking and adding flirtatiously, "And maybe a phone number from a certain pretty waitress?"

The waitress widened her eyes before blushing and clearing her throat. "One cup of lemonade coming right up."

Takeshi grinned at her response, and just as soon as she was out of sight, he glanced around, finding that there were other females in the store. He winked at them, and they each blushed before looking away. Some even had the gall to look at him suggestively back, which made him chuckle.

But even then, he still felt his adrenaline coursing through his veins.

He sighed in frustration as he leaned back against the chair. He took out his phone and went through the conversation he had with Buttercup.

And once again, he stopped at one particular part of their conversation.

_Me? Like her? You've gotta be fucking kidding me._

_Well, if love can turn into hatred, then hatred can turn into love, right? That's what my two friends are always preaching about—especially when it comes to shoujo manga and all._

_Again, you've gotta be kidding me. This is reality, not fiction, Buttercup._

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

He blinked a few times before rereading the last sentence.

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

He frowned as he stared at the last five words once again.

_…haven't you ever considered it?_

Before he could even think twice about that part again, he saw the same waitress from earlier come over. At once, he put on his flirtatious act, hoping that maybe flirting with this girl would suppress his adrenaline—even if it was by just a little bit.

"Here's your lemonade," the waitress said as she placed it down.

"Thank you," Takeshi replied before staring at her.

The waitress' face turned slightly red upon noticing this. She cleared her throat before asking, "Was there anything else you wanted?"

"Yes, there was. I'm pretty sure that I asked for a phone number from a _certain_ pretty waitress, who _happens_ to be standing right in front of me?" His grin grew even more when the waitress became flustered.

"I-I need to attend to the other customers. If you need anything that's on the _menu_ , just ask, and I'll immediately come by."

Before Takeshi could reply, the waitress was already walking briskly away from him, and he whistled before muttering, "A bit fiesty, huh?"

His grin immediately disappeared when his adrenaline was inwardly screaming at him again.

Takeshi resisted the urge to growl. He didn't need to make a scene in some place that's public, for crying out loud. He glanced down at his phone and stared at his phone's screen.

_Me? Like her? You've gotta be fucking kidding me._

_Well, if love can turn into hatred, then hatred can turn into love, right? That's what my two friends are always preaching about—especially when it comes to shoujo manga and all._

_Again, you've gotta be kidding me. This is reality, not fiction, Buttercup._

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

His eyes narrowed at the thought of him getting together with Kaoru. He immediately scowled before he muttered, "No way in hell."

But he knew that the adrenaline inside of him was screaming.

It was screaming at him that the adrenaline can only be satiated if Kaoru was in the picture.

If they fought again to the very end with one standing as the victor.

Takeshi immediately shook his head as a way to ignore his adrenaline. There was only one solution: Text Buttercup.

And this solution never _ever_ failed him—not even once.

Just as soon as he was about to text her, he frowned. He looked across from the table, seeing that there was an empty chair in front of him.

At once, Takeshi let out a long sigh after remembering that she rejected meeting up with him. He knew how stubborn she could be, but he wasn't planning on giving up just yet.

After all, it was times like these when he needed Buttercup right by his side—badly.


	6. Recollection and Questions

Day: April 17

Time: 4:55 P.M.

Takeshi's footsteps echoed as he continued to walk down the hallway. His bored gaze kept flickering from door to door as he was heading towards the cafeteria. In his right hand was none other than a convenience store bag. He scratched his head, feeling his black spiky hair. Just as soon as he was about to take something out of the bag, he heard a large slam—a door slam, in fact.

He raised an eyebrow at this sound since it came from the direction he was heading towards. As he stepped closer, he realized that it was none other than the cafeteria doors, and from a distance, he could see that long flowing red hair before a recognizable yell was heard from the redhead.

"Kaoru!"

Takeshi raised an eyebrow, realizing that it was none other than that Akatsutsumi Momoko his brother mentioned a few times. He walked closer and leaned near the wall to listen in on their conversation.

"Why in the world are you still here?!"

"I have a duty," he heard Kaoru reply. There was a slight pause before a plop was heard. "Duh."

"I _know_ that, but today's try-outs—"

"Just ended. Yeah, I know."

"Did you go?!"

He heard the tomboy sigh. "No."

"Do you plan on going tomorrow?!"

Silence.

"What about Friday? Friday's the last day to try-out, you know!"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Try-outs, Kaoru! _Try-outs!_ "

Takeshi raised an eyebrow at this. He then blinked before remembering that there was an announcement that try-outs began today. Actually, the only way he did remember this was because of the amount of girls he passed by in the hallway today. Each and every one of them talked about watching the male upperclassmen in action.

Most of them kept talking about this one dude, but Takeshi didn't bother to even remember his name. At the time, he was too preoccupied with the tomboy—or at least, his thoughts about her.

Takeshi blinked a few times before he heard another plop. Then came light stomping.

"Momoko, I'm mopping—"

"Do you even plan on going?!"

Another sigh came from the tomboy, but this time, it was in exasperation. "Jesus Christ, Momoko—"

"Answer me!"

Takeshi frowned slightly as he realized that the tomboy didn't respond. He raised an eyebrow at this, but continued to stay silent.

"Do you even plan on going?! Yes or no?!"

"I had to do my clean-up duty in the classroom—"

"You skipped it on Monday!"

" _Only_ because Ms. Keane said it was all right!"

"Kaoru, did it even _occur_ to you asking her—"

"You don't think I fucking did?!"

There was a slight pause, and Takeshi had to make sure to listen closely because Momoko said softly, "Then, why didn't you go?"

Takeshi heard a loud groan from the tomboy, and he sneered at this. "The fucking faculty know! The _principal_ fucking knows!"

There was another pause. "Okay, just what are you—"

"They know, Momoko. They fucking _know._ "

Takeshi's eyes went slightly wide. He had never heard the tomboy's voice become this soft—not even when they were fighting and were going at it. Hell, not even when she was on the ground, all beaten up and bloody.

Even then, her voice wasn't soft. It was still loud and defiant—maybe even raspy, since they _did_ injure each other—but never _soft._ Not… _this_ kind of softness.

Not the kind of softness he had expected from his ex-girlfriends—like when he dumped each and every one of them, or even when they were all happy for just going on one date with him.

But this kind of softness was different.

Something about it screamed…

Footsteps from the redhead. "Kaoru, just what are you talking about?"

"You know very well what I'm talking about, Momoko…"

… _Emotional_.

He heard more footsteps. "No. No, I don't."

Takeshi didn't hear the tomboy respond. His breathing hitched. Hell, he wasn't even aware that he held his breath until he heard her finally say, "They know about me and Jojo Takeshi back in middle school." Takeshi blinked his eyes before he heard the tomboy add, "You know, the shit we did."

"Wait, you wouldn't mean—"

"Yeah."

Takeshi frowned almost immediately. Guess what he heard—that slight emotional tone he heard just now—was just something he _mis_ heard. Just then, _those_ words appeared in his thoughts.

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

Takeshi immediately scowled. No way in fucking hell. Just no.

"What?! They can't do that!"

"They fucking can, Momoko."

"But, you're the _queen_ of sports—"

"And this fucking 'queen' can't do _shit_ because of her _history_ with that fucking so-called 'king!'"

"Look, I'm _sure_ they can make an exception—"

"They didn't! It's just like with this stupid cafeteria and floor duty I'm stuck with!" Takeshi heard the tomboy slam her fists against something—most likely a table.

There was another pause before he heard the redhead say, "Kaoru, did _he_ try out?"

"How the fuck should I know?!"

"Well, you _could_ try asking—"

"You're not on civilized terms with that Jojo Takeo, so don't be a hypocrite, Momoko!"

"Excuse me?!"

He heard another slam against the table from the tomboy. "You fucking heard me! Don't be a hypocrite!"

"Kaoru, I'm actually _concerned_ here—"

"'Concerned,' my ass! You just want me to take up sports again!"

"Of course I do! You can't let what happened between you and Jojo Takeshi stop you—"

"It's _because_ of him that I can't fucking try out, Momoko! Don't you fucking _understand that?!_ "

"Well, _maybe_ if you two start getting along—"

"Like hell that will fucking happen! We've hated each other since day _one._ "

"That doesn't mean you two can't try to get along _now_ —"

"See, this is why I called you a fucking hypocrite!"

"And just how am I—"

"You haven't gotten along with that freaking Jojo Takeo, right?! Then what exactly gives _you_ the fucking right to lecture _me_ —"

"Okay, now look here, Jojo Takeo and I are a _completely_ different matter! We're talking about _you_ and Jojo _Takeshi_ —"

"See? You're fucking denying it! Admit it! Admit that you're a fucking hypocrite because I know that you can't fucking bring yourself to get along with him!"

"Only because he was a total jerk to me back in middle school!"

"Same with me, except the Jojo brother I'm dealing with is a shitload worse than freaking Jojo Takeo! So don't give me any of that bullshit that I can get along with that guy because quite frankly, I _can't._ "

Takeshi heard the redhead groan in exasperation. "Why are you acting like this?! All you have to do is stroll up to Jojo Takeshi and ask him if he tried out or not!"

Takeshi blinked a few times as he remembered his middle school days.

The same middle school days with Kaoru.

He could recall of how obsessed the girl was with sports back then, and he could recall of how he joined the sports teams as well—but only as a chance for his adrenaline.

That was the _only_ reason.

He remembered that the two were on most of the sports teams for quite a while—until that fateful day. He honestly didn't care about what happened that day, but the tomboy was a different story. It was as if her hatred for him increased ten times fold—hell, maybe even a _hundred_ times fold—and although that was never in his original plan, it filled him with adrenaline and glee, anyway.

Takeshi's reminiscing was cut off when he heard the tomboy yell, "Shut up, Momoko!"

"Just what is wrong with you today?! I know you're angry about the try-outs—"

"Shut. _Up._ "

Takeshi raised an eyebrow at this exchange. Was this really just another pointless bicker? Or was this something that's going to go even further? He could recall how the redhead and tomboy argued during their middle school days, especially over Urawa Natsuki, a guy that the redhead was smitten at the time. It was known—and _painfully_ obvious—to everyone who knew the redhead and the tomboy _but_ the boy in particular.

He remembered a particular day when he overheard Natsuki talking to his guy friends—and his team mates—about who the hottest girl in school was. Not surprisingly, they all agreed that it was Gotokuji Miyako—all except Natsuki himself. Takeshi didn't really care, but he did find it rather surprising that the boy wasn't smitten with the blonde girl like the majority of their school was.

Takeshi did overhear rumors from his team mates that Natsuki—the guy who nearly every girl was crushing on—had feelings with a _certain_ tomboy.

But honestly, he didn't care about that information.

After all, the only thing on his mind at the time was just getting his adrenaline working— _increasing_ —no, pumping through his veins with the help of that same certain tomboy.

Takeshi blinked a few times at these memories before he heard a loud and angry huff from the redhead. "Fine! Be that way! I'm _so sorry_ that I was actually _concerned_ about how _frustrated_ you must be feeling—"

"Fucking _hell_ , Momoko—"

"But you know what? Fine! If you wanna be angry and sulk on your own, then _fine!_ You were _always_ like this—"

" _Momoko!_ "

"No, listen to me! Why is it that you're _always_ like this, huh?! Keeping things to yourself—"

"I can handle this shit on my own!"

"Handle?! _Handle?!_ For crying out loud, you're arguing with me right now, aren't you?! This just proves that you _want_ to get back into sports—"

"No, I fucking don't!"

"You _just_ admitted it—"

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did!"

"I can't join, anyway, Momoko!"

"Then we can try convincing—"

"I fucking _tried_ , Momoko! I FUCKING _TRIED!_ "

"Then Miyako and I—"

"I don't need you two saving my ass!"

"Oh, my God! You're being completely unreasonable here!"

"How the _fuck_ am I—"

"We can _help_ you, Kaoru—"

"Your help isn't gonna do _shit_ , damn it! It's already decided that I'm not allowed to join!"

"Then Miyako and I will come up with a way to show that you're needed for our school to win—"

"YOU DON'T FUCKING GET IT!"

"Stop screaming, Kaoru!"

"NO, SHUT UP, MOMOKO! YOU. DON'T. FUCKING. GET IT!"

"I _do!_ All we have to do is just be persistent and convince—"

"THAT'S NOT GONNA DO SHIT! IT'S NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING AS LONG AS THAT FUCKING JOJO TAKESHI'S HERE IN THIS SCHOOL!"

Takeshi raised an eyebrow at this, completely unfazed by the tomboy's screaming. Did she want to try-out for sports teams _that_ badly? He scoffed when he remembered watching Kaoru out on the field, kicking the soccer ball up and down on her knees.

On that day, she was the only one who bothered to show up to practice. He could recall how she was ranting about where the other girls could be as she continued to practice by herself, and he could recall how the next day, the other members told Kaoru that they each had to study for an upcoming exam, had babysitting, etc.

Those, of course, were all lies.

He knew this because he later found those girls on a group date with guys from another school. He was coincidentally with his girlfriend at the time—someone who actually went to the same school as those boys. Even now, Takeshi could recall the exact words he overheard from the conversation.

"She is _such_ a pain!"

"I know, right?"

"And a total bitch, too! Like, what the hell?"

A groan from one of the girls. "I _know_ , right?"

"What are you girls talking about?"

Snobby laughter erupted from the girls. "Oh, our team captain."

"She doesn't even look pretty! She looks like a total boy!"

Low chuckles came from the boys until one of them finally asked, "Oh, _really?_ "

"Toooootally."

"Yeah! Like, zero sex appeal!"

"If she actually turned out to be a dyke, I wouldn't be surprised."

A low whistle from one of the boys. "That's rather harsh of you girls to say that."

"Oh, believe me, we're usually not like this."

"Yeah, totally! It's just that she's a total bitch!"

"For reals! I mean, she doesn't even understand how we feel about…"

There was a slight pause before a boy inquired, "About?"

Giggles came from all the girls until one finally answered, "Oh, you know… _Boys._ "

"I'm willing to bet she's never had a boyfriend."

"Or her first kiss!"

Mock laughter from one of the girls. "Don't forget that she's too ugly to even attract a boy in the first place!"

"Oh, my God, totally!"

One of the boys cleared his throat. "Girls, just wondering, but what's the girl's name?"

"Matsubara Kaoru."

"Believe us when we say she's u-g-l-y," one of the girls sang.

"Her personality is scary, too!"

"I know, right?"

"Yeah! I mean, she just glares at almost _everyone_ , and she always—and I mean _always_ —has that dark aura around her!"

"It's no _wonder_ that no one wants to be friends with her."

"All except for that Akatsutsumi and Gotokuji."

"Oh, my God. _Don't_ get me started on that freak and snob."

He honestly didn't care when the girls continued to their backstabbing. That's why he didn't give a damn when the girls each told their share of lies about where they were to the tomboy—not even when the tomboy believed each and every single of those lies.

In fact, he didn't bother to say a word about this to Kaoru. Not one word.

As the girls began to grow more and more distant from Kaoru by going on more group dates, he sometimes found himself watching her from a distance whenever she was on the field.

All alone.

All by herself.

All because of those other girls.

And he never bothered her— _instigate_ her, in fact, so they'd fight once more—during these moments, even though he should've.

All simply because his adrenaline never once pumped through his veins during those moments.

Takeshi blinked once he heard the tomboy say, "Just get out of my sight."

"Kaoru—"

"Just get out of my fucking sight, Momoko!"

"Fine! You're _impossible_ , Kaoru! Just _impossible!_ "

It was then that Takeshi heard loud stomps from the redhead. The cafeteria doors slammed open, but Momoko paid no heed to him as she went in the other direction. He had no idea where she was going, but he knew one thing: the redhead definitely looked irritated. He would've thought she looked angry, but considering how he's dealt with the tomboy, this sort of anger was _nowhere_ near hers.

He then blinked and peered through the open doorway. There, he saw the tomboy, having her back towards him. He could even see from a distance that she was trembling as her fists were clenched tightly. Takeshi continued to stare at her as she stomped over to the bucket and kicked it, causing water to spill everywhere on the floor.

"Fucking hell! Fuck everyone! Just _fuck everyone in this fucking world!_ " he heard her yell.

Even then, he continued to stare at the tomboy, who still had her back towards him as she slammed her fists on a nearby table. He continued to watch her angry, trembling figure as the tomboy continued to stand in one place.

His eyes continued to linger on her figure until he saw her take out her cell phone and begin to text someone. A slight sneer formed on his face as he walked into the cafeteria, and he continued to watch her text whoever she was texting.

Her body was shaking with anger.

Pent-up rage.

And that just made it easier to piss her off.

But at the same time, it also meant she needed to control her damn temper.

Not that he minded, of course.

Plus, it was easy to taunt her about it as well.

Takeshi frowned as he stared at the tomboy. She apparently didn't even hear his footsteps because she was too engrossed in texting. Her body was still trembling, and her other fist was completely clenched.

Was she seriously _that_ pissed off?

Takeshi blinked a few times before rummaging through the bag he had and took out a box of Pocky. He took out a stick, and he placed it in his mouth before he began to chew on it.

Chocolate.

Definitely better than that strawberry shit.

"Leave."

Takeshi raised an eyebrow at her surprisingly calm tone. Considering her short temper, she should've snapped or yelled at him, but instead, she said that one word so calmly. And honestly, that made him want to press her even _further_. He continued to chew on the Pocky stick in his mouth, and eventually, he finished the last of it.

" _Now_ , Jojo."

"Don't wanna."

At once, she whirled around, and that _wonderful_ pissed off expression was on her face.

He felt his fingers twitch once he saw it. That urge. That adrenaline of his. Everything in him was screaming to make the first move by punching her.

But no. No. He had to keep calm. His anger didn't faze him, but he knew that her anger definitely stirred up his adrenaline.

No. He had to try to control it. Keep calm.

He could always let it out later, but now wasn't a good fucking time.

Not. Now.

"I'M NOT IN THE FUCKING MOOD, JOJO! SO GET YOUR ASS OUT OF HERE BEFORE I PUMMEL YOU LIKE THE PIECE OF SHIT THAT YOU ARE!"

Takeshi stared at her before he stepped even closer. He took out another Pocky stick and put in his mouth. This time, though, he didn't make any attempt in chewing it. He did his best to remain calm.

Oh, but it was _definitely_ hard with this girl.

The closer he stepped, the more on guard and tense her figure became.

The more on guard and tense she became, the stronger her glare grew.

The stronger her glare grew, the more pissed off she became.

And the more pissed off she became, the stronger that adrenaline of his grew.

Soon, she'd no longer be able to restrain herself, and the thought of that made his eyes flash momentarily with glee. After all, if _she_ made the first move, then he wouldn't be entirely at fault now, would he?

He tilted his chin upward, moving the Pocky stick up but still not chewing on it. Being taller than the tomboy was something he just _loved_ having over her. In situations like these, it just made the tomboy even angrier at him.

Which he was aiming for.

A sneer slowly formed on his face. "Who's gonna make me?"

By this time, all reason in him was lost—not that there was even any in the first place. But that self-control he tried to maintain just now completely disappeared. It took _everything_ in him to not attack her right then and there.

He knew she could feel it.

That strong urge to fight.

That urge to try to pummel and pound the other into total submission.

She felt it.

He knew.

Her fists clenched.

His sneer grew.

And her glare intensified.

Oh, how he _hated_ this bitch.

He fucking hated her to _no_ end.

And even though he knew he shouldn't even be here—that he shouldn't even be _associating_ with this fucking bitch—he could already feel his adrenaline taking control of his entire body.

And he utterly _loved_ every single moment it took control of him.

"You know, I'm feeling _so_ tired today from try-outs," Takeshi said. That was a lie, but it was _great_ material for mocking the tomboy. He sneered even more when he saw the tomboy flinch.

"Jojo, I fucking _swear_ —"

"I think I might've made the team. Oh, man, if I _did_ —"

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE. SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!"

"Why should I? Who's gonna make me?" Takeshi tilted his head back down, and he raised an eyebrow as he continued to sneer. " _You?_ "

"I am going to fucking _SLAP YOU_ —"

"Yeah, that's not gonna do shit, Matsubara."

Slapping would never do the trick. He wanted her to punch him. Just one punch, and they'd go all out. That's all he fucking needed right now.

Just _one_ punch.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, JOJO! YOU WERE _NEVER_ INTO SPORTS—NOT EVEN IN MIDDLE SCHOOL! SO THERE'S _NO_ FUCKING WAY THAT YOU TRIED OUT!"

Takeshi couldn't help but smirk in response. What the tomboy said was indeed true. He was never really into sports.

Joining the sports teams was just a way to irritate the tomboy. He joined after try-outs were long over—after his first fight with the tomboy, in fact. His team mates were reluctant to let him join because of his reputation throughout the entire school, but he didn't care. It didn't take long to convince them once he showed them his prowess at sports, just like how the tomboy excelled at sports as well.

Honestly, he didn't really care about sports. He was always laid-back and lazy, even during important matches. None of the sports teams he joined gave him enough reason to even put effort. Thus, the team only really depended on him when desperate times called for desperate measures. Otherwise, it was mostly Natsuki that everyone depended on for the win, and it was because of this that he became rather popular with many of the girls in their middle school.

Key word being many.

The one girl Natsuki wanted to snag, but couldn't, was none other than the tomboy.

Takeshi wasn't even aware that he was reminiscing again until he heard a growl. His attention came back to the tomboy, who was glaring at him with a scowl adorning her face. He resisted the urge to smirk as he purposely continued to move the Pocky stick up and down with his teeth in order to taunt her.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Until finally, he saw the other end of the Pocky stick brush against the tomboy's lips.

The tomboy flinched upon the contact, but Takeshi reacted differently.

His eyes didn't widen.

He didn't flinch.

In fact, he didn't even move a _muscle_.

As if on cue, he started to hear Buttercup's words in his head again.

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

Takeshi couldn't help but stare at her lips as a scowl made its way back on her face.

"Back the hell away from my face, fucker," Kaoru growled softly. " _Now._ "

In response, Takeshi continued to stare at her—at her _lips_ , for that matter.

_…haven't you ever considered it?_

Before he knew it, he found himself eying the tomboy.

Nothing about her screamed feminine—hell, even _attractive_ , for that matter. Her hair was messy, and it was short enough for her to pass off as a male. She wore the male uniform, for Christ's sake. In fact, for as long as he could remember, she was always _dressed_ like a male, _looked_ like a male, and _acted_ like a male. Even when she was on sports teams back in middle school and she was "required" to wear a skirt or a dress—hell, maybe even a pair of _very_ short shorts—she'd always end up wearing basketball shorts that reached past her knees or a pair of sweats.

She never really wore anything feminine. Everything about her screamed boyish.

And yet, he couldn't help but suddenly wonder…

Did the tomboy actually have curves?

There couldn't be any way that the tomboy would have curves—not with all of those sports she did back in middle school. Maybe a toned stomach and a slim waist. Her shoulders might be rather broad, too. Hell, she might even have _abs_ , for crying out loud—maybe even fucking large biceps or triceps. Or maybe even fucking large, muscular calves and thighs.

But, she was still a girl.

And that meant she must have _some_ amount of curves, right?

Takeshi knew how well girls could hide their figure, and he only knew this because of his ex-girlfriends. At one point, all of them purposely wore miniskirts, high heels, and a tight top to show off the legs, ass, thighs, and bust he thought they never really had because of their school uniform.

Sure, he knew they were skinny and just pretty-faces, but _still._ If school uniforms could hide curves that well, then wouldn't that mean the tomboy had curves?

She may be a bitch.

But, she was still a girl.

A girl—no, a _bitch_ who probably had a _nice_ pair of legs.

 _Soft_ , firm thighs.

A firm, _jiggly_ ass.

And a _nice_ pair of breasts.

"You fucker! Are you listening to me?! Or do you need me to knock some fucking sense into you?!"

Takeshi blinked once he snapped out of his thoughts after hearing her voice. He frowned immediately.

Was he _seriously_ thinking about the tomboy in that kind of way?

A fucking _sexual_ way?

For Christ's sake, he did show interest with his ex-girlfriends, but not like _this—_ not even once!

He blamed Buttercup for this. Freaking girl's words had never escaped his brain ever since she mentioned them.

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

No. Nope. Nah. No.

Just _no_.

There was no fucking chance in _hell_ —in the fucking _world_ , for that matter—for either him or Kaoru to have feelings for each other.

Reality did _not_ work that way.

He hated her, and she hated him.

They both acknowledged this, and they would always act on their hatred for each other.

And yet, with him, that adrenaline he'd always feel with her—that fucking _adrenaline_ , for Christ's sake—was something that only _one_ fight with her could satisfy.

A one-on-one fight with anyone else wouldn't be the same.

Hell, not even one against Christ knows how many he had fought at the same fucking time.

So _why?_

Fucking _why?_

Takeshi frowned as he heard another growl from the tomboy.

Why _her_ of all people?

Why fucking _her?_

Sure, Buttercup was someone who could always calm his adrenaline down.

But the thing is, she wasn't always gonna be around.

Just like how she wasn't around right now, when his adrenaline had already taken control of him.

And that adrenaline wanted to taunt the tomboy some more.

And so, he did, using none other than the Pocky stick.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

And just then, the other end of the Pocky stick brushed against her lips for the second time.

He moved the Pocky stick up, and once again, it brushed against her lips. Takeshi then moved it back down, but the minute it brushed against her lips, the tomboy caught the other end with her mouth.

He stared at her.

Her face.

Her _lips_.

Her fucking lips were a slight pink.

Were they always fucking pink?

They weren't even chapped.

They looked fucking _plump_ , even though she was glaring straight at him.

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

Before he could think even more about her actions, he saw a stick of some sort moving in from above. At once, Takeshi dodged, causing him to break the Pocky stick in half. When the stick-like object finally came down, he took that moment to analyze what it was.

A mop.

It was the mop.

It was the _fucking_ mop.

He frowned, wondering just when the hell she had the mop back in her hands. Or did he not notice that the mop was actually beside her the entire time?

Well, not that it mattered.

He felt his fingers twitch.

His adrenaline.

It was now screaming at him to attack her.

Punch her.

Kick her.

Get her to fucking _scream_ and fight back with _all_ of her strength.

But instead, he kept his half of the Pocky stick still in his mouth as he calmly looked at the tomboy, who kept her half of the Pocky stick still as well.

Fuck all of those thoughts he had about her earlier.

That look she adorned.

That stance.

That _figure._

It was enough to make his adrenaline increase ten times fold.

"I knew I should've used my fist," he heard the tomboy grumble.

Make that hundred times fold.

Takeshi felt his fingers twitch again. "You need to fix that temper of yours."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. "I don't need to deal with your shit, Jojo, so leave me alone!"

"Nah, I think I'll stick around."

"I said to leave, fucker!"

Takeshi sneered as he realized that he could now set the right bait to push her even further. "So you could cry to yourself after finding out that you couldn't join any of the sports teams?"

Kaoru's eyes widened before she narrowed her eyes again. "You fucking asshole! You were _eavesdropping?!_ "

"I have absolutely _no_ idea what you're talking about," Takeshi replied sarcastically. He started to walk even closer towards the tomboy as he held up the convenience store bag. "Oh, and I don't plan on leaving until all of these snacks are eaten, Matsubara." He taunted her by moving the half Pocky stick with his mouth up and down again. His adrenaline grew when the glare Kaoru gave intensified. When he was right in front of her, he asked, "So, how's the Pocky?"

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at him in response.

Takeshi couldn't help but stare as she chewed on her half of the Pocky stick. The way her jaw moved, the way her _mouth_ moved—something about it made Buttercup's words echo in his head again for the fucking umpteenth time.

_I know, but haven't you ever considered it?_

Kaoru finished the last of it before she said, "Don't change the damn subject, Jojo! How long have you been eavesdropping on me and Momoko?!"

"Again, _no_ idea what you're talking about," he replied sarcastically.

"You fucking _asshole!_ " Kaoru stalked up right to him, and her light green eyes were glaring at him in fury. "Do you _want_ to have your ass kicked?!"

Takeshi felt his fingers twitch from his adrenaline. Their proximity wasn't even helping. They were so close to each other that the either of them could easily send a punch or an uppercut to the other. It was then that he remembered he still had his half of the Pocky stick in his mouth. He moved it up and down, and his eyes flashed with slight glee when she glared at the snack in annoyance. "Is that a challenge?"

Kaoru scoffed before she growled softly, "What, not gonna mention how you kicked my ass back in middle school?"

Takeshi sneered. He wasn't even aware what he was saying until the words finally escaped his mouth: "Should've tried smacking it instead to see if you even actually _have_ an ass."

Fucking hell. Was he seriously thinking about her sexually now?

Kaoru rolled her eyes as she scoffed.

She dismissed it calmly. She dismissed the mere thought of him smacking her ass so fucking _calmly_.

At once, Kaoru glared at him. "You should be more worried about _yours_ if I get my fucking hands on you."

For Christ's sake, he knew she meant it in a threatening manner, but _holy fucking hell_ , his adrenaline was already _screaming_ to try that idea—to actually _try_ smacking her ass. _Hard._

He could even hear his adrenaline whisper the words in his head, "Smack it and grope it. Fucking grope and smack the _shit_ out of her ass. See if it's actually there—if it actually _exists._ "

His fingers twitched.

Takeshi was _really_ tempted to do it.

And the glare he was receiving from the tomboy _definitely_ wasn't helping.

* * *

"Stupid Kaoru."

_SLAM!_

"Stupid…"

_Slam._

"Stupid…"

_Slam._

" _Stupid_ Kaoru!"

_SLAM!_

Momoko huffed as she continued to slam the books back into their place on the bookshelves. After she placed the final book back on that bookshelf, she moved to the next aisle with the cart of books. She sighed when she reached the next bookshelf and picked up a book.

_Slam._

"It's not that hard."

_Slam!_

"I mean, seriously."

_SLAM!_

Momoko frowned as she then held up another book. "Miyako and I could help, for crying out loud!"

_SLAM!_

"Why is she _so_ —"

"Stop slamming the books."

Momoko flinched. Her head whirled to the left to find Takeo standing right next to her. Her eyes widened again as she jumped slightly and took a step backward.

Takeo frowned before narrowing his eyes at Momoko. He eyed her for a slight second before saying, " _You're_ the new library assistant?"

Momoko flinched once more, and she glared at him. "And just what do you mean by that?!"

"I meant what I implied."

"Excuse me?!"

He sighed. "You're such a nuisance."

Momoko began to sputter her words as she tried to word out her angry thoughts. The only thing she could even manage through her head was that Takeo was a jerk— _period._ Nothing about him screamed anything less than that, and he had the nerve to even insult her!

One word: Jerk.

This guy was a _complete_ and utter _jerk!_

If she was Kaoru, she'd definitely use a range of colorful words. But unlike the tomboy, she didn't curse at all. Besides, if she _was_ Kaoru in this situation, she probably would've let her temper loose by now, just like how she always acted around Takeshi.

"Form your words coherently, will you?"

Momoko glared at him in response. She was _so_ tempted to yell at him. Her fists were clenched, and her hands were at her sides. And yet, the male redhead seemed unfazed. He continued to stare at her coolly, and Momoko just felt even more like screaming at him.

But she couldn't.

They were in a library.

The last thing she needed was the librarian getting on her case about the first and most obvious rule: no yelling. Only small talk or complete silence was acceptable. Nothing more, nothing less.

But Momoko was so tempted—so _very_ tempted, in fact—to just yell at Takeo. She sighed as a way to calm herself down before she narrowed her eyes at him. "Can I help you with something?"

"I said to stop slamming the books, didn't I?"

Momoko's eye twitched.

This guy was such a jerk.

To Momoko, he always had been, and he always will be.

She sighed again before answering calmly, "Then I'll do just that, so you can go." Momoko then put the book away calmly before turning her head to Takeo. "Better?"

"Can your brain not tell the difference?" Takeo retorted.

Momoko glared at him even more before she scoffed and began placing the rest of the books away. Thankfully for her, this was the last bookshelf she had to do. After this, she could try to get a head start on studying— _if_ she could even study and memorize the material successfully. Momoko grimaced as she placed the final book away.

She heard Takeo's footsteps going further and further away before they stopped, but she paid him no heed. Why should she, anyway? The guy was a jerk! A big, stupid jerk! A jerk who didn't even deserve any amount of her attention!

And ironically, she always ends up giving him her attention, anyway.

He doesn't even try, and he gets her attention easily.

Momoko frowned.

She was late to her library duty by _at least_ fifteen minutes because of her argument with the tomboy, which meant that she was already fifteen minutes behind schedule. And to make matters worse, there was a lot more books that needed to be shelved and categorized. There were also the new set of books that needed to be barcoded, and there were the textbooks and dictionaries that needed to be checked because of their condition and to keep track how many they still had.

When she thought of the rest of the things she needed to do, Momoko couldn't help but grimace again as she grumbled, "Whoever said that being a library assistant was easy is a total liar."

Momoko couldn't help but wonder why she just couldn't pack all of this knowledge into her brain. She was in a library, surrounded by tons of books, but she couldn't get one _stupid_ piece of whatever she studied into her brain.

Not. One. Single. Bit.

How Miyako could easily do that, she'll never understand.

Momoko then moved the empty cart towards the aisle. She passed bookshelf after bookshelf until she found that familiar red cap aisles away. She hesitated, but she continued to move the cart back to the front desk. The librarian thanked her and told her to take a break—a break where Momoko usually used her time to try to study—but instead, Momoko found herself walking back to the aisle that she found that red cap at.

Momoko hesitated before she went to peek around the corner of a bookshelf. There, she found Takeo sitting down on the floor. His back was against the bookshelf, and he still had that red cap on his head placed backwards. What shocked her the most was that he was surrounded by stacks of books—not just two or three, but at least _ten_ to _fifteen_.

Momoko continued to stare at him in shock, even when he flipped a page of the book he held. She blinked before she squinted to try to see the book's title.

No use.

Momoko frowned, and she tried squinting again.

"Stop staring at me."

Momoko flinched and hid behind the bookshelf. "I-I wasn't—"

"I saw you staring, and I'd appreciate it if you'd go stalk some upperclassman, like you always did back in middle school."

Momoko flinched once more. A downcast look appeared on her face before she huffed and stomped towards Takeo. She glared at him, and the glare only grew when he didn't even bother to acknowledge her presence. "I'm not that sort of girl anymore!"

"Does it look like I care?"

" _Hey!_ "

"Keep your voice down, will you? We're in a library."

Momoko narrowed her eyes at Takeo, who simply turned the next page in the book. "At least _I'm_ not disobeying school regulations."

Takeo glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. He made no verbal response as he continued to stare at her, waiting for Momoko to continue.

"Your cap, you jerk," Momoko said as she rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't be wearing a cap indoors. In fact, you shouldn't be wearing any sort of headgear at all unless it's religious headgear."

Momoko couldn't help but feel slightly proud. She actually went through the school handbook and read every rule there was. Well, she only read it because she was bored, but still!

Takeo gave her a deadpanned look before he went back to his book. He flipped a page before replying, "I'm an exception, Akatsutsumi."

Momoko's jaw was somewhat dropped as she felt her sudden pride went down the drain. She managed to recover, feeling her cheeks grow somewhat hot from the embarrassment. "Exception? How are _you_ an exception? Last time I checked, you and your brothers had the word 'fear' embedded in nearly everyone's head back in middle school." Momoko instantly regretted her words when she saw Takeo glancing at her coldly. She hesitated before saying softly, "I-I mean, you know…"

Takeo stared at her blankly before he frowned. "You feared me, didn't you?"

"W-Well…"

Oh, why did she have to go and open her mouth?

Momoko hesitated again. She glanced at Takeo, who was staring at her and looked like he was waiting for her answer. Momoko continued to hesitate before she answered softly, "I only heard about you through rumors."

"We were in the same class in our first year of middle school."

"Yeah, I know."

"And you didn't fear me during that year?"

"You kept to yourself during the beginning of the year. Then, those rumors started circling around, and then, out of nowhere, you started being a total jerk to me."

Momoko wasn't even aware of the fact that her voice was soft until just now. She glanced at Takeo again, who was still staring at her blankly with that frown on his face. The redhead shifted her feet nervously as she glanced sheepishly away.

"Those rumors were all true, you know."

Momoko stopped in her actions as her eyes widened. Her head snapped back to Takeo.

Takeo was still staring blankly at her as he said, "Why else would my brothers and I come to school having bruises and bandages almost everywhere on our bodies?"

"S-So—"

"We were delinquents back in middle school." Takeo paused before he then added, "Now, tell me, Akatsutsumi. What's the main thing delinquents do?"

Momoko hesitated before she said softly, "Get into fights." She paused, hesitating once more before adding in an even softer tone, "Physical fights, like how Kaoru and Takeshi almost always try to get into one whenever they're together."

"So your brain _can_ piece bits of information together."

Momoko frowned before throwing him a glare.

Takeo, of course, was unfazed by it. He nonchalantly went back to his book, flipping yet another page.

Momoko stared at his figure for a while. Her pink eyes then glanced from book to book, and as soon as she opened her mouth, Takeo glanced at her again. Momoko shut her mouth and flinched. "W-What?"

"Why are you here?"

Momoko opened her mouth to reply that she was obviously the library assistant, but Takeo beat her to her response.

"I meant why you're standing here and not doing your duty as a library assistant."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm done." Momoko didn't bother to add the fact that she was done _for now_ , but she was _still_ technically done, right? Besides, if she added that she was only done for now, then Takeo definitely would've insulted her intellect for it.

Honestly, she wasn't in the mood for having her intelligence insulted by him— _again_.

"Then go do something productive, Akatsutsumi. I'm busy."

Momoko scoffed before she sat down right in front of Takeo. She grabbed a book as Takeo raised an eyebrow at her, and Momoko opened it only to have her face pale. She gulped slightly before placing the book back slowly. "I didn't need to see that…"

"Naked human male anatomy?"

Momoko blinked. "How'd you know?"

"Look at the cover."

Momoko blinked a few times before she looked at the cover of the book. She grinned sheepishly when she read its title. The book was none other than a biology book on the sexual reproductive system. "Oh," she said softly.

Takeo grunted before he flipped another page.

Momoko continued to stare at him, and she hesitated to even try to ask him what book he was reading. Kaoru's words of Momoko as a hypocrite somewhat echoed in her head. She knew Kaoru said it because she was angry and frustrated, but she had a point.

Last time Momoko checked, she and Takeo didn't get along.

And maybe, if she and Takeo could get along, then Kaoru and Takeshi would as well. Or at least, she could try to convince the tomboy to get along with Takeshi.

"It's worth a shot," Momoko muttered.

"What is?"

Momoko flinched. "Uh, well, um…" She wasn't even aware that she said that last bit out loud… God, she felt like a total idiot right now. She glanced at Takeo, who was still staring at her and waiting for her to continue. When he raised an eyebrow at her, Momoko grew even more nervous, and she began to stutter over her words, making no sense whatsoever to the male redhead.

"Speak coherently, Akatsutsumi."

Momoko still continued to sputter out her words.

"Akatsutsumi, if you can't speak coherently, then shut your mouth because your stuttering is annoying."

Momoko then shut up. She hesitated before saying softly, "Can I ask you something?"

Takeo sighed in exasperation, and he looked at the female redhead in annoyance. "No. Now, leave."

Momoko figured he'd say that, so she quickly asked, "So, uh, I was thinking that maybe—"

Takeo narrowed his eyes, causing Momoko to stop speaking immediately. His glare didn't even falter when Momoko flinched. The male redhead then said, "Leave."

"But—"

" _Leave._ "

Momoko narrowed her eyes. "I'm not leaving!"

Takeo stared at the female redhead for a while. Eventually, he rolled his eyes. "Do whatever you wanna do. Just don't disturb me."

"I was going to ask you—"

"I said not to disturb me."

"What, you mean I can't ask you something?! That's not fair!"

"Life itself isn't fair, so shut up already, Akatsutsumi."

"Wha—I was just going to ask if you wanted to hang out some time!"

Well, that did it.

Momoko immediately made a mental sarcastic note to herself about completely blowing it. There went her plan. Oh, boy. Things between them were bad enough as it was already, for crying out loud! But, if getting along with Takeo meant that she could somehow get Kaoru and Takeshi on civilized terms with each other, then that'd mean Kaoru would be able to join one of the sports teams!

Takeo stared at Momoko for a few seconds. His composure didn't even look like it faltered one bit. As the two redheads continued staring at each other, Momoko made another mental note that Kaoru _so_ owed her for this.

"You know what?"

Wait, Takeo was _actually_ going to respond? Momoko's eyes went wide at this as she waited for his response.

Takeo immediately frowned. "You're annoying."

"W-Wha—"

"You're a nuisance. Now leave me alone."

"I'm just asking if you wanna—"

"No, I don't. So leave me alone." Takeo rolled his eyes before he went back to his book. He then added, "I don't want you fawning about some guy near me daily, like back in middle school."

"How many times have I said that I'm _over_ Natsuki now—"

"Are you _really?_ Because last time I checked, you were crying over him when he rejected you and ran after your tomboy friend. Then, he tried to use you as a rebound after she rejected him."

Momoko's eyes widened, and she felt a lump in her throat.

How did he know?

How in the world did he know?

Everyone eventually found out that Momoko was over Natsuki, but only two people knew about her tears, and they were none other than Kaoru and Miyako.

So, how exactly in the world did he know?

Momoko hesitated before saying, "W-What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Takeo replied before he finally shut his book and looked straight Momoko. He narrowed his eyes, and Momoko felt goosebumps on her skin from his look. "You were in love with the guy—head over heels, in fact." Momoko watched him open his mouth to say more, but instead, he shut his mouth, and he placed his book on a stack before getting another one from the stack next to it.

Momoko needed to ask.

She just _had_ to.

"J-Jojo."

Takeo grunted in response.

"H-How did you know?"

"Crying in the bathroom is usually a dead giveaway."

"O-Oh."

Right. She _did_ cry in the bathroom about it. Sure, it was rather desperate, but Momoko couldn't help it. Out of all the guys Momoko ever liked, Natsuki was the only one she was serious about. She knew that she never really had a chance, but it still _hurt._ Thankfully for her, Miyako and Kaoru were there to console her. Kaoru even went to the extent of scaring away any girls who wanted to come in and use the bathroom, in fact—just so Momoko could cry her heart out.

Maybe it would've been better if… _he_ was at her side.

But, last time she checked, _he_ …

Momoko's eyes slowly went to another book, desperately trying to block out any other bad thoughts, but none of them seemed interesting to her. As if on cue, she found something near one of the book stacks that piqued her interest: a folded up piece of paper. She glanced at Takeo, who paid her no heed as he was now reading the new book in his hands. She then reached over to pick up the folded paper before opening it, and her eyes widened at the title: _Student Council Application._

She glanced at Takeo again, who was still reading.

Out of all the things he could've applied for, it was Student Council? Sure, she heard that clubs started opening today, and that applications end by Friday of next week, but _the Student Council?!_

Momoko heard about how the Student Council were going to have new elections starting next week—at least, for the first years. Those who were already in the Student Council continued their duty, so the upperclassmen simply needed to go through another re-election. This also meant that student officers were going to be chosen after the elections were over.

Momoko's eyes scanned the paper, and she adorned a look of confusion when she saw the position Takeo was applying for. Just then, the paper was snatched out of her hands. "H-Hey—" Her words were cut off when she saw that Takeo was glaring at her, and she felt her face pale.

"Leave."

"But—"

" _Now._ "

Momoko opened her mouth to say another word, but she flinched when Takeo narrowed his eyes at her. She scoffed before standing up and stomping away from the male redhead. When she went back to the cart and began heading towards the library's front desk, she couldn't help but glance back at the male redhead one last time.

So many questions were going through her head as soon as she saw that paper.

Why apply for the Student Council?

Why was he even there and studying?

Momoko could never recall Takeo showing such a studious side of him in middle school. Last time she checked, he and his brothers practically struck terror throughout the entire student body with just their names. If that alone didn't do it, then a definite reminder of it was whenever Takeshi and Kaoru were near each other.

Actually, Momoko could never really recall a moment when Takeo was that studious at all. He never once seemed to have any interest in school subjects, and whenever test scores came out, his name was never announced as the top student. Not even his brothers' names were announced as one of the top students.

Momoko frowned, and she scoffed at the idea of him being a genius.

There was just no way Takeo actually was.

After all, if he was, he'd be excelling in everything, and most importantly, _everyone_ would know it. That's why Natsuki was so popular back in middle school. He had the intelligence, the appearance, and the athleticism. He was in the top ten for most intelligent students, for crying out loud.

The idea that Takeo was even more intelligent that Natsuki was _seriously_ outrageous. Not to mention unbelievable as well.

But what really had her mind boggling was the position he was applying for.

If anything, because of the way Takeo acted as the leader of his brothers, she expected him to apply for the position as the president of the Student Council.

And yet, out of all the positions he could've applied for, why treasurer?


End file.
